ABOUT
Specialised in the production of lambskins and fine nappa leather for gloves, but also for footwear, leather goods and clothing, the Giorgio Portolano Pelli company represents the fourth generation of a family that has been in the fashion world for more than 120 years. Tradition is combined with the intuition of the owner who embraces the needs of an ever-changing market. ‘The characteristics of leather for glove today are also in great demand for footwear,’ Giorgio Portolano relates. Whereas in the past 95% of our turnover came from the sale of glove leather, today glove leather retains its leading position with 70%, but the share coming from footwear and leather goods is growing with 30%'.

FOCUS
Can a leather intended for glove production adapt to the needs of a shoe? The answer is yes, but how? ‘Our selection begins with the crust leather,’ Portolano continues, ‘We choose only the fuller-bodied lambskins and nappa leather; we work them to remove some of the elasticity and dye them in full-grain barrels. We have refined a PFAS-free water repellency treatment using a combination of natural and synthetic fatliquors'. The result is a leather that maintains the roundness and softness of glove leather, but with an increased thickness of 0.8 to 1 mm and a more robust structure, characteristics that make it suitable for the world of footwear.