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International Student Design Competition

2023


We are delighted for the third year to host the International Real Leather. Stay Different. Student Design Competition 2023, a search for the best new designers around the globe and for those who want to promote slow style and a more sustainable future for fashion.

Are you concerned about fast throwaway fashion and unsustainable materials? According to Greenpeace, synthetics – made using petrochemicals from the oil industry – now make up 60% of our clothing. These clothes not only take hundreds of years to biodegrade but are often cheap and poorly made. The result — nearly one billion items of clothing, each typically worn just five times — are thrown away every year.

In the meantime, leather, a natural by-product of the dairy and meat industries and our growing demand for food — from burgers to milkshakes, can be used to make items that last a lifetime and, when disposed of, biodegrade quickly. Leather is a perfect solution to one of fashion’s biggest problems, but each year almost half of the world’s cattle hides are just thrown away.

To encourage thinking about our planet’s future and to combat this waste, our judges challenge you to create an original, innovative, and visually stunning design, in one of three categories of apparel, accessories or footwear made from real cattle leather. They would also like to see how entrants approach creating garments that will not only last, but be loved, for a lifetime.

The competition, run with our partners at Arts Thread, opens March 1 2023, and closes on June 30 2023, midnight BST. Any entries submitted after that date will not be accepted.

THE BRIEF & DELIVERABLES

You are asked to use leather as the inspiration for a single item, either clothing, shoes, or accessories. Entries must be at least 50% cattle hide leather and any other materials used must be natural or organic materials where possible. We do not accept the use of fur or exotic skins. Plastics must only be used where no natural alternatives are available. We would like your piece to capture one or more of the facets of leather, from beauty and versatility to strength and durability.

 

Entries should include the following elements:

  1. A brief summary of your project provided in English.
  2. Storyboards and design inspiration.
  3. Sketches, flats, technical specifications, and final design (the item does not need to be physically made at this stage)
  4. A short two-minute video to introduce you and your design. This is optional but encouraged, as it brings life to your project.

 

Please give consideration to ease of recycling, reuse and disposal at the end of the product’s life, and also think about the practicalities of commercial production, as we are looking for designers who will start new brands, fashion movements or slow-style trends.

THE PRIZE

Each of the three category winners will receive a trophy, certificate and Coffee Table Book covering the competition and including their entry. 

The category winners will have their designs professionally made, and form part of a capsule collection showcasing the best international talent, and unveiled at a final event hosted in Europe in October 2023. 

All three category winners and the People’s Choice award winner will win an all expenses-paid trip to attend the final event in Europe where the overall winner will be chosen and announced.

Additional prizes to be announced at a later date.

THE JUDGES

Gal Benjamin, is an Israeli Assistant Designer at luxury fashion brand KAWAYAN and graduate from Shenkar College of Design, Engineering and Art. In 2022 he was crowned the Overall Winner of the Real Leather. Stay Different. International Student Design Competition.

 

Christopher Korber has spent most of his professional life in the fashion industry, from senior executive roles at Tommy Hilfiger to the current Managing Director of Hugo Boss Ticino. He is known as a change agent, an innovative, big-picture thinker, a strong cross-functional collaborator, and a powerful motivator and mentor who raises the performance of diverse, global teams. His expertise encompasses operations, strategy, brand management, innovation, and consumer-centric products at all stages of the life cycle.

 

Mike Adler works for leading celebrities, brands, fashion magazines and some of the world’s most iconic photographers. His work features in photography exhibitions, books and galleries—with recent works by Ellen Von Unwerth and Mike Adler for Fotografiska New York. His expertise and connections with many Haute Couture brands has given him a unique eye and a style celebrities yearn for. Across a career spanning 20 years, Mike has attended to the style of Josh O’Connor, Maisie Williams, Elizabeth Hurley, Emma Corrin, Monica Bellucci, Melissa George, David Guetta, Sophie Kauer, Catrinel Marlon and Pamela Anderson, among many others. What he loves about leather is its longevity and sustainability that allow fashion trends and commerciality to co-exist.

 

Leanne Elliott Young is the CEO & Co-Founder of Institute of Digital Fashion. She is noted globally as the lead innovator and commentator on the topics of metaverse, digital fashion innovation, inclusivity in tech, web3 sustainability and NFTs. Building business cases and creative concepts for the future; an inclusive, diverse, decentralized and sustainable one. Since graduating, she has held prestigious contracts with Nike; Global entertainment team on experiential marketing to Selfridges luxury store building retail innovation. 

 

Cat Taylor launched IoDF, the Institute of Digital Fashion; an emblem for change in a broken system. Co-Founding the initiative alongside Leanne Elliott Young, IoDF acts as a platform to restructure how technology and digital are used from creation to consumer, pushing tech-use towards a more democratic and sustainable future. Widely considered a trailblazer, Cattytay is leading the drive towards a digital fashion future. 

 

Paola Arosio graduated in Philosophy in 2000 at the University of Milan, she has worked in fashion for 20 years and in sustainability for 10. At Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana Paola is the Head of New Brands & Sustainability Projects: after a first experience in managing TV programs as “Woman under the stars” and “Fashion and Sea in Porto Cervo”, she started dealing with education, institutional initiatives, partnerships, working groups and events about CSR and emerging brands worldwide. In 2011, she started the sustainability area at Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and today she coordinates all the activities of the department such as the annual International Sustainability Roundtable and the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards. Paola has also been working on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for 4 years.

Stream of Consciousness

Yuetong Wang

London College of Fashion

BA (Hons) Cordwainers Fashion Bags and Accessories

Competitions: International

Accessories

Emotionally Durable Accessory Based on Modularity

Liis Tisler

Estonian Academy of Arts

Accessory Design MA

Competitions: International

Accessories

prunel

Aurélien BOURDET

L'Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantiques

Product Design Bachelor & Digital Design Master

Competitions: International

Accessories

Ex;anté – project Perak

Andry Chen

London College of Fashion

BA(Hons) Cordwainers: Fashion Bags and Accessories

Competitions: UK, International

Accessories

MUYUM

Eliška Chromčáková

Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art University Of West Bohemia

Fashion Design MFA

Competitions: International

Accessories

FLUIDA

Viola Ponticelli

IED Istituto Europeo Di Design

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Accessories

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

Alida Xavier

Istituto Marangoni: Fashion, Art and Design

MA Luxury Accessory design and management

Competitions: UK, International

Accessories

Ata Sué | Zihita Collection

Allison Gómez

London College of Fashion

Cordwainers Fashion Bags and Accessories: Product Design and Innovation

Competitions: International, UK

Accessories

Weave

Emily Richardson

Central Saint Martins

Ba (hons) Product & Industrial Design

Competitions: UK, International

Accessories

Gauntlet modular handbag

Siddharth Yadav

MIT institute of design, Pune

Industrial design

Competitions: International

Accessories

Tessellation upcycled leather jacket

Aida Matuseviciute

Aalto University

Fashion Design MFA

Competitions: Nordic Region, International

Apparel

My Digital-Physical World

Sara Halpern

Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Design

ARTEM ANIMA X BAINS

surina bains

Birmingham City University

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: UK, International

Apparel

Fight or Flight

Siobhán Curtis

National College of Art and Design

BA (HONS) Fine Art International: Department of Applied Materials: Textiles, Art & Artefact

Competitions: International

Apparel

REINVENT

Madelyn Sumner

Curtin University

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Apparel

Manmade?: An Extension of the Natural State

Zoe Alvarez

Cornell University

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Apparel

Whim

Tamar Elbaz

Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Apparel

MY LITTLE MONSTER

NETA SHALOM

Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Apparel

Humanesque

Nathan Batra

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Apparel

CYBER WEST

Jozef Tomko

London College of Fashion

Ba. Fashion Design Technology: Menswear

Competitions: International

Apparel

RLSD: The Statement Hybrid

Sifana Shahzad

The Glasgow School of Art

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: UK, International

Apparel

Summer kisses, Winter tears

Sharon Katz

Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Apparel

MEERESKREATUREN – LEATHERBACK JACKET

Charlotte Lockton

University of Brighton

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: UK, International

Design

SIPHON

Hollie Haughin

Northumbria University

BA (HONS) Fashion Design

Competitions: UK, International

Design

The Good Life

Tori Jagger

Sheffield Hallam University

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: UK, International

Apparel

The Giger Coat

Arianna Stapley

Kingston School of Art

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: UK, International

Apparel

Blinkered: Falconry T-Shirt

Madeleine Morgan

University of Brighton

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: UK, International

Apparel

"EL DOMINGO" (SUNDAY)

Ana Del Rio Mullarkey

De Montfort University

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: UK, International

Apparel

Sinful Sanctity

Emilly Malcher

Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Apparel

Concious Cuts

Simone Celli

Istituto Marangoni: Fashion, Art and Design

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Apparel

Spin-to-Win

Rose Brown

Nottingham Trent University

Fashion Design MFA

Competitions: International

Apparel

Jacron Chainmail Top

Cecelia Hinds

Marist College

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Apparel

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

Mailie Halcyon Dennis

Nottingham Trent University

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: UK, International

Apparel

COWPUNK

Floyd Rorije

ArteZ University of the arts

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Design

Melaya Wrap

Peter Shonoda

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: International

Apparel

I(M)PERFECT

Sara Veneziano

Accademia Costume & Moda

Footwear & Accessory Design BFA

Competitions: International

Accessories

Beyond Bauhaus

Abigail Rayner

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Fibers BFA, Accessory Design MFA

Competitions: International

Accessories

Novus Sustainable Leather Everyday Sneaker – Mitchel Hoye University of Queensland

Mitchell Hoye

Queensland University Of Technology

Industrial Design

Competitions: International

Footwear

Natalie Circus

开云 杨

Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology

Footwear & Accessory Design BFA

Competitions: China Mainland, International

Footwear

Chasing Clouds / 逐云

腾州 应

闽南理工学院-服装与艺术设计学院

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: China Mainland, International

Footwear

Fishing Net

Hai Shihao

Donghua University

Product Design BFA

Competitions: China Mainland, International

Footwear

Surrounded by Technology

Pei Yi Dai

Fu Jen Catholic University

Fashion Design BFA

Competitions: Taiwan Region, International

Footwear

Cum-Joe—Sneakers

WEI,SIANG LIOU

Tainan University of Technology

Footwear & Accessory Design BFA

Competitions: Taiwan Region, International

Footwear

Fragile Future

Hannu Viitala

Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK)

Smart and sustainable design, bachelor of culture and arts

Competitions: Nordic Region, International

Footwear

SURVIVE

Giuseppe Migliore

Accademia Costume & Moda

Competitions: International

Accessories

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.