REAL LEATHER. STAY DIFFERENT.

REAL LEATHER. STAY DIFFERENT.

REAL LEATHER. STAY DIFFERENT.

REAL LEATHER. STAY DIFFERENT. DESIGN COMPETITIONS

Our mission is to showcase the beauty, durability and sustainability of leather with original and innovative designs and in doing so cut waste, reduce the use of petroleum based synthetics and disrupt the fast fashion cycle. Real Leather. Stay Different. invites designers worldwide to showcase their talent by entering one of our design competitions.

We host an ever growing number of competitions around the world as we work in different regions to move the fashion agenda forward. We have regional competitions for the UK, Nordic Region, China Mainland, Taiwan Region, Africa (spanning 10 countries) and in 2023 the Philippines alongside an International Student Design Competition open to students and recent graduates around the world.

Competitions

China Mainland

SHORTLIST unveiled

International

SHORTLIST unveiled

Nordic Region

SHORTLIST unveiled

Taiwan Region

SHORTLIST unveiled

UK

SHORTLIST unveiled

Upload your entry now

2023 Taiwan Region Shortlist Unveiled

DRUNKARD'S UTOPIA

ROUSE|回溯

Words cut deep

掩埋(Landfill)

New generation of Blue&White

Surrounded by Technology

Tafoni

Day & Night

Pangolin Trade and Female Power

Amis:勇士的祈願 / Amis: Warrior's Prayer

PUPA

Pangolin Trade and Female Power

2023 China Mainland Shortlist Unveiled

《数量关系》Quantity relationships

jumping space

时空门 space-time gate

To Make the Most

《变形计划》/Deformation plan

浮生半日闲Floating Life Half Day Leisure

四单元101室Unit4,room101

Garden Tour

CELLULAR MEMORY

《戏诉人生》

The magic STINGRAY

洑水布依 Fu water Buyi

切点

Lightly

城市丛林 Urban Jungle

CAT STYLE

PUPA

ODD HOLE

共生symbiosis

《雪域》/《Snowland》

FOAM ABLATION

VOYAGER

Muscle life 肌生

生生不息 continuous reproduction breed in an endless succession

2023 Nordic Region Shortlist Unveiled

Braided bag

On the go

Lantern Bag – a bag for celebration

Saddleback: Laukka

Tessellation upcycled leather jacket

PDFE – Puffer Design For Everybody

sculptural wearables

An ode to the core memories

Cocoon

the devil's new skin_ Pinja Antikainen

PALASET- 3D patchwork consept

Salmiakki cocktail dress

Fragile Future

2023 UK Shortlist Unveiled

Ex;anté – project Perak

Ata Sué | Zihita Collection

The Boatpack

Urban Camouflage

Artisanal Heritage

How leather industry's off-cuts can be utilised in order to avoid landfill

RLSD: The Statement Hybrid

Institution 7 Collection Envy

Real Leather Stay Different 2022 entry

"God you look AMAZING!" "WHAT! Are you Serious?"

Waste to Wardrobe

Blinkered: Falconry T-Shirt

Puppets in the club

The Endless Loop

SIPHON

Nicnevin

The Giger Coat

Freddy's Come To Play

The Good Life

ARTEM ANIMA X BAINS

Weave

"EL DOMINGO" (SUNDAY)

PROTÉGER L’ÉLÉGANCE

Artifact Live Project

Real Leather. Stay different. Amalia-Adela Samoila

MEERESKREATUREN – LEATHERBACK JACKET

BLINKERED

Beauty and ugliness

An Ode to Metaphors

The Forgotten Cinderellas

Abyss

Hybrid project: link the past and future

2023 International Shortlist Unveiled

Stream of Consciousness

Emotionally Durable Accessory Based on Modularity

prunel

Ex;anté – project Perak

MUYUM

FLUIDA

How leather industry's off-cuts can be utilised in order to avoid landfill

Ata Sué | Zihita Collection

Weave

Gauntlet modular handbag

Tessellation upcycled leather jacket

My Digital-Physical World

ARTEM ANIMA X BAINS

Fight or Flight

REINVENT

Manmade?: An Extension of the Natural State

Whim

MY LITTLE MONSTER

Humanesque

CYBER WEST

RLSD: The Statement Hybrid

Summer kisses, Winter tears

MEERESKREATUREN – LEATHERBACK JACKET

SIPHON

The Good Life

The Giger Coat

Blinkered: Falconry T-Shirt

"EL DOMINGO" (SUNDAY)

Sinful Sanctity

Concious Cuts

Spin-to-Win

Jacron Chainmail Top

"God you look AMAZING!" "WHAT! Are you Serious?"

COWPUNK

Melaya Wrap

I(M)PERFECT

Beyond Bauhaus

Novus Sustainable Leather Everyday Sneaker – Mitchel Hoye University of Queensland

Natalie Circus

Chasing Clouds / 逐云

Fishing Net

Surrounded by Technology

Cum-Joe—Sneakers

Fragile Future

SURVIVE

Latest News

2022 International Winner crowned at glittering awards ceremony

Chosen amongst almost 400 entries, the Real Leather. Stay Different. International Student Design Competition 2022 Overall Winner was decided by our panel of judges at the competition final in Soho, London. Congratulations Gal Benjamin, a Fashion Design graduate of Shenkar College of Design in Israel, who modelled his winning design, ‘Alexithymia’.

African Talent Leather Design Showcase 2023 Announcement

Our first Africa Showcase is something different for Real Leather. Stay Different. Not a traditional competition, we are inviting entries from designers including students and those in employment, the best of which will be chosen to appear in a showcase that promotes the breadth and depth of talent in the creative industries in 10 countries in Africa. This will also enable RLSD to promote our sustainability values, championing the use of natural materials and encouraging a focus on slow style over fast fashion.

RLSD Student Design Competition launches in the Philippines for 2023

RLSD, the outreach campaign run by the Leather and Hide Council of America (L&HCA) has partnered with the Fashion Accessory Makers of the Philippines (FAMPh) for the competition. The RLSD Philippine Student Design Competition 2023 is open to people studying in art and design schools and colleges in the Philippines. Shortlisted finalists will be invited to create their design with the assistance of FAMPh and local sponsors.

REAL LEATHER. STAY DIFFERENT.

REAL LEATHER. STAY DIFFERENT.

REAL LEATHER. STAY DIFFERENT.

ABOUT REAL LEATHER. STAY DIFFERENT.

RLSD is a global campaign funded by the Leather & Hide Council of America. It has reached some 750 million people and hundreds of thousands of students and makes the case for the use of leather and other natural materials as critical to a more sustainable future. RLSD points out that we should make the best use of society’s waste and that hides, as the by-product of the dairy and meat industries, should be used rather than landfilled as 130 million hides are every year, cutting CO2 emissions, cutting reliance on synthetics, creating longer lasting materials and challenge the fast fashion cycle.

For those who ask, we do NOT allow any entries using furs and other exotic materials. This campaign is about our responsibility to use society’s waste and to reduce consumption.

Previous Winners

 

Emilia Utbult Karlsson

College: Beckmans College of Design, Sweden
Course: Fashion BA
Competition Name: Nordic Region Student Design Competition 2022
Categories: Overall & Apparel Category
Location: Sweden

 

Emily Omesi

College: Fashion Institute of Technology
Course: Fashion Design BFA
Competition Name: International Student Design Competition 2021
Categories: Overall & Apparel Category
Location: New York, USA

 

Yu Lun Lu

College: Shih Chien University
Course: Fashion Design BA
Competition Name: Taiwan Region Student Design Competition 2022
Categories: Overall & Apparel Category
Location: Taipei, Taiwan

 

Gal Benjamin

College: Shenkar College of Engineering
Course: Fashion Design BDES
Competition Name: International Student Design Competition 2022
Categories: Overall & Apparel Category
Location: Israel/London, UK

 

Anna Melegh

College: London College of Fashion
Course: Footwear MA
Competition Name: UK Student Design Competition 2022
Categories: Overall & Footwear Category
Location: London, UK

 

YunTian Dong

College: Donghua University
Course: Fashion Art Design BA
Competition Name: China Mainland Student Design Competition 2022
Categories: Overall & Accessory Category
Location: Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

Upload your entry now

Working with our partners at Arts Thread to develop lifelong learning and career opportunities for students of fashion and design. Our partnership provides the opportunity to compete on a world stage, participate in industry led workshops, set up an outstanding portfolio and gain access to the resources that will kickstart careers in fashion and design.