At the start of the summer, a leading topic of conversation among fashion-watchers across Europe, following Fashion Week shows in Milan and Paris, was the creative use of leather in spring-summer 2023 collections.

Brands big and small have relished the post-pandemic return of in-person catwalks and ‘tableaux vivants’ this year. In July, at a particularly eye-catching event at the start of the new defilé season, the fashion and leathergoods houses of luxury group LVMH strutted their visions of what is next for men’s fashion. Fendi, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Loewe, Kenzo and Céline put on spring-summer 2023 Fashion Week shows in Milan and Paris that were full of colourful leathers, unconventional forms, and unexpected pairings. (Is that a mobile phone case fused onto your yellow leather jacket? Why, yes, it is.) This imaginative spirit, which also incorporated the innovative use of upcycled materials, gives a glimpse of what we can hope to see more of in 2023.

Williams weaves in leather offcuts

Givenchy’s show stood out as a debut of sorts for the luxury brand’s relatively new creative director, Matthew M Williams. This was his first men’s-only ready-to-wear show; Mr Williams was appointed to the role during the tumultuous summer of 2020. The pandemic meant his early collections for the brand were revealed digitally, and then last year his first live show featured both women’s and menswear. This July’s show, held at École Militaire in Paris, was thought to be an important indicator of what is ahead for the luxury house: it looks promising both for leather and for upcycling.

The vibe of the show was a natural extension of what the world has seen from Mr Williams prior to his joining Givenchy. An American who grew up in California, Mr Williams replaced British designer Clare Waight Keller who held the role for three years and was known for a romantic, feminine style (she also designed Meghan Markle’s dress when she married the UK’s Prince Harry in 2018). Matthew M Williams, on the other hand, is associated with a more functional, edgy style; his own brand, 1017 ALYX 9SM, which he founded in 2015, describes itself as ‘[marrying] luxury streetwear with high fashion and leatherwear, taking cues from California and NYC skate, punk and club subcultures’. In addition to his founding of Alyx, the 36-year-old has worked with numerous celebrities, including fashion icons Lady Gaga and Kanye West. As for his environmental credentials, Mr Williams’ ALYX Visual diffusion collection, from 2018, was made entirely from upcycled cotton from pre-used clothing. He also unveiled a blockchain-powered pilot programme in 2019 to help address supply chain transparency.

There was much that was worthy of a closer look in his Givenchy collection for spring-summer 2023, including a jacket that had the appearance of nylon but was actually a lightweight leather, and other pieces with which the designer investigates “the societal uniforms of his native America to create a contemporary wardrobe, applying the savoir-faire of the Paris ateliers”.

One of his most stand-out pieces was a jacket featuring leather offcuts. “The play of fabrics also includes pieces made from a patchwork of upcycled leather offcuts,” says LVMH, “laminated for a super-luxe look.”

Givenchy doesn’t provide details about the origin and nature of the offcuts, but World Leather spoke to Tommaso Ciardi, project manager of BuyLeatherOnline (a wholesale supplier of leathers from the Badalassi, Tempesti, and Walpier tanneries in Tuscany) about the process and what type of leather Mr Williams may have used. 

According to Mr Ciardi, lamination, which typically takes one or two days, is usually done on lambskins or on bovine leather, in particular calf sides. “Chrome-tanned or synthetic-tanned leather, with low thickness, is the most suitable,” he says, but “it is also possible to produce it on veg-tan.”

While it is not clear from Givenchy’s description at what point the offcuts became laminated, it’s likely that the pieces used in the collection were the remnants of laminated leather, rather than unfinished scraps that were then laminated. “It is not possible — or convenient — to finish small pieces like scraps,” Mr Ciardi points out.

Laminated leather has been around for decades, Mr Ciardi points out, and is popular because of its versatility. His company describes uses that range from leather finishes that are “subtle if opaque and neutral in colour” to “aggressive, flashy and lively”.

Mr Williams’ incorporation of thoughtful details like the patchwork of laminated offcuts makes sense for a designer who has spoken frequently about his focus on technique, craftsmanship, and sustainable fabrication. He has masterfully repurposed in a way that is both useful and beautiful what otherwise might have ended up in a trash heap. 

LV and Loewe play with leather

For the group’s Louis Vuitton brand, the show was in many ways an homage to the spirit of the late Virgil Abloh, the brand’s artistic director who died in November 2021 at the age of 41 after an unpublicised battle with cancer. Though LV paid tribute to Mr Abloh at a planned show that was held only days after his death (with the family’s blessing), this spring-summer 2023 collection was an opportunity to celebrate his legacy and the brand’s next chapter. “It explores the relationship between imagination and reality and brings together creative minds into the ecosystem that welcomed Virgil Abloh in 2018,” according to the brand, “and that strives for creatorship, craftsmanship and showmanship.”

Among the inventive uses of leather at the LV show were what appeared to be jaunty folded paper hats donned by the runway models, though in this case the childhood staple had been recreated with white and black leather. Leather was also prominent in the colourful bold imagery, often cartoon-like, whether appearing as part of accessories, decorations or the clothing itself — for example, patent leather suits were given an irreverent crackly appearance. 

Another of LVMH’s fashion houses, Loewe, sought to fuse nature and technology with a unique leather jacket, which hit just below the knee and was presented in a variety of colours. The monochromatic piece looked sleek and simple from a distance. However, up close it became clear that a number of techy objects — such as earphones, a pen drive, and a phone case — had been affixed to the leather, each in the same colour as the jacket so they appeared to have become one. Admittedly the leather jacket was a tad upstaged by shoes, tops and jeans that literally had grass growing from them, but that’s for another magazine to explore.

A focus on upcycling

It’s also worth mentioning that Louis Vuitton highlighted its green ambitions, saying the collection’s accessories, bags, and shoes “redefine the Upcycling Ideology, while keeping a playful stance”. The Upcycling Ideology, as described by Virgil Abloh, “seeks to de-programme our minds from the images of obsolescence that lead to overload, overproduction and waste”. Mr Abloh wrote in last summer’s show notes that the Upcycling Ideology was to be “a permanent part of the Louis Vuitton men’s collections.” 

As for Mr Williams, we can expect a continuation of upcycled materials in his collections, too. Though he is still only two years into his time with Givenchy, LVMH chief executive, Sidney Toledano, has said of the designer: “His singular vision of modernity will be a great opportunity for Givenchy to write its new chapter with strength and success.” It seems fair to expect, then, that his tenure will last for years to come.

With the sustainability-minded Mr Williams at the creative helm for Givenchy and the embedding of an upcycling ethos at Louis Vuitton, we can also expect to see more from LVMH in the area of repurposed leather.  

Givenchy’s collection includes pieces made with leather offcuts laminated for a “luxe” look.
Credit: Givenchy

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