Despite the restrictions due to COVID-19, the THINK BAG project, created by Leather & Luxury and Loipell, keeps going with the workshop days. During those meetings, partners make available to the students of Polimoda, materials, skills and techniques, to help them realize their iconic bag in a sustainable way. Alberto Falcini, from the Guido Falcini company, tells us why he decided to participate in the project and how he will support the students.
What does the company do?
Guido Falcini selects and processes leathers, from raw to finished materials, for the most famous brands in the world, supporting them in the three sectors of fashion: footwear, leather goods and RWT clothing. The historical heritage of artisanal know-how, combined with the constant search for new sources, make Guido Falcini an authentic example of sustainable Made in Italy. The company’s main focus of environmental sustainability is on the proximity of sources, combined with the Metal Free tanning and the compliance with REACH.
Why did you decide to participate in THINK BAG?
Young people represent the future and, from the leather companies’ point of view, it is essential that they have a total knowledge of the products. Designers and manufacturers are indispensable figures for each other, so it is only thanks to the union of these two substantially different realities that fashion is created.
We have always been very open to young people who came to the factory to see leathers and to understand the steps, processing techniques and properties of each leather, in order to adapt it to a certain type of design. It would be desirable for shoe factories and all other companies in the fashion leather business to provide this type of support.
What material will you make available to students?
We will provide the "Nappa Cosmo", born with Moschino and then used by many brands that have tested and industrialized the product to sell it all over the world. The main characteristics of this leather are its softness and the semi-gloss look, which lends itself to different types of processing (from smooth to quilted). The Nappa Cosmo is a material purely dedicated to leather goods, very versatile to create all kinds of bags. It is available in various colors and the final price of the article is around € 43.00/sqm.
What kind of support will you give to the students?
We want to give young designers and future fashion managers the opportunity to realize the real characteristics of the product. Leather is different by nature: beyond the consideration of the breed, we can surely say that each leather is unique, and it is the tanning process that unifies it.
The following processing on leather meets the demands of the fashion market. For us, it is important being able to understand the characteristics of the leather, where it comes from and the path it must take to become an article easy to work with.
For several years now, leather companies have been called to pay great attention to sustainability. Your company engages in this cause on multiple fronts...
For us, real leather is a synonym of environmental sustainability, being an article that has been used since Indian times. Leather is a product that has always existed. Recently, the use of chrome in the hides’ tanning has been necessary to satisfy the market demand for unnatural raw material performance. However, there are techniques trying to limit as much metals as possible on leathers. In fact, our company is equipped with Metal Free tanning and we make sure that every leather is in compliance with the REACH regulation.
Another fundamental concept that Guido Falcini carries out with pride is the traceability of leather. For this reason, with regard to the supply of raw materials, the company tries to get leathers only from sources located in the Mediterranean area.
