Italian tanner repeats student award
04/06/2010
At the third Beast to Beauty conference in London on June 3, Prealpina managing director, Giancarlo Baldisserotto, paid particular attention to the leather design projects that 19 students from different colleges and universities across the UK had on display. All 19 students were already winners as their work had won them a place at the event courtesy of the generous help of the industry’s liveried company in the City of London, the Leathersellers. They set up displays of the shoes, leathergoods and apparel they have designed in the run-up to graduation for delegates to examine during conference breaks.
Giancarlo Baldisserotto chose a display by Sarah Jane Williams from the London College of Fashion as ‘the best in show’ and, at the start of the afternoon session of the conference, presented her a cash prize from Prealpina to help her take her work forward.
Ms Williams makes traditional leather brief- and attaché cases in British style, but with a real design twist. One side of the main case she had on display, in light tan leather, was straight on one side, with a traditional lock. It has two separate handles in the centre. From there, though, the shape of the case changes completely, with the young designer incorporating a “tapering curve” into the body. She describes the overall effect as giving “a melted organic form” to a traditional object.
Her collection includes a number of other pieces, including a jewellery case and a picnic hamper. Another of the briefcases is L-shaped and comes in peppermint green coloured leather. It looks like it would fit into a James Bond film.
Giancarlo Baldisserotto told leatherbiz after the presentation that he knew Ms Williams’s briefcase was the winning display as soon as he saw it. He commented: “All the work the students have produced is excellent. But there is something very particular and original about this design. It’s something I have never seen anywhere before, and in Italy, as you know, there is a lot of emphasis on design, with new design ideas always on show. This idea is new.”
He went on to say that, as manufacturing continues to move to lower-cost countries, it is increasingly ideas that matter. “We need to encourage our students and young designers to keep developing original ideas,” he said.
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