Real Leather. Stay Different

Leather and Hide Council of America partners with the African Leather and Leather Products Institute to launch Real Leather. Stay Different. African Talent Leather Design Showcase 2023 (RLSD African Showcase ’23.

  • Partnership commits to “Educating the Next Generation of Creatives and Re-Shaping our Fashion Futures”  
  • RLSD African Showcase ‘23 will promote sustainable leather and leather products production among small and medium sized enterprises
  • Dedicated series of fashion, production and sustainability workshops to empower African designers of tomorrow.

The Leather and Hide Council of America [L&HCA] and the African Leather and Leather Products Institute [ALLPI] have partnered to launch the Real Leather. Stay Different. African Talent Leather Design Showcase 2023 [RLSD African Showcase ‘23]. The new partnership, which commits to ‘educating the next generation of creatives’, aims to reshape education around the production and use of sustainable leather across Africa.

Through the RLSD African Showcase ’23, L&HCA and ALLPI will promote the development of sustainable leather production among small and medium sized enterprises. As part of the initiative, a dedicated education program will be delivered, via a workshop series hosted at ALLPI’s satellite design studios located in its ten member countries, that explores fashion, production and sustainability.

The workshops will be designed to help improve business efficiency and minimize negative environmental and social impacts. They will be open to creatives studying or working at small and medium sized enterprises and will showcase the future of leather design, its sustainability benefits and how innovations can be implemented within their creative practices to further reduce waste.

Real Leather. Stay Different. has a strong ethos of supporting the next generation of creative business talent with an aim to re-build, re-educate, and re-position. The new partnership brings to the forefront a common set of values to support sustainable leather value chains and emerging creatives through education.

The RLSD African Showcase ’23, is open to talent studying or working in art and design via the ALLPI’s design studios. Showcase participants will be challenged to design a single piece of apparel, accessory, footwear or furniture item using natural materials and 50% or more leather. Shortlisted finalists will be invited to create their design concept at one of the ALLPI’s satellite design studios. Finalists will present their work during a live showcase finale at the All Africa Leather Fair 2023 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mr. Gehbregziabher Ghebremedhin, Programs Coordinator at the African Leather and Leather Products Institute, said:

“The RLSD African Showcase ’23 extends our commitment to bring the highest ethics for business and the environment to leather production systems, supporting sustainable small and medium sized enterprises and businesses while improving business practices and the environment.

“Not only will it become a platform to showcase beautiful leather and leather products but it will also highlight that leather bags, clothes, footwear and furniture, if maintained properly, can last indefinitely. As part of the prize for making the global finale, finalists will have their design on display at the African Talent Leather Design Showcase 2023 as part of the All Africa Leather Fair 2023,  an invaluable and significant opportunity.”

Steve Sothmann, President for Leather and Hide Council of America, commented:

“The showcase’s mission is to spark the interest of African designers to work with responsibly produced real leather which puts hides that would otherwise go to waste, to good use. Real leather doesn’t just look good, it is better for the environment than its man-made alternatives and they make products so durable that each can last a lifetime – its quintessentially ‘slow fashion’.

“Too many of our fashion choices end up in landfill, creating an unwanted legacy from today’s society that will damage the environment for centuries. Fast fashion means not only more consumption, but the increased use of fossil fuels and associated environmental impacts in the form of toxics and microfibers.  Working with ALLPI gives us the opportunity to empower the next generation with skills that reduce waste in the design process.”

For more information on the Real Leather. Stay Different. African Talent Leather Design Showcase 2023, visit https://chooserealleather.com/competition/africa-competition-2022/