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Ben Lehmann

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My name is Ben Lehmann. I’m german, born in the United States, spent part of my childhood in China, and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany. Living between cultures from an early age shaped the way I see the world—with curiosity, openness, and a fascination for the many ways people create, live, and solve problems. I’m a documentary photographer, and have been fortunate to tell stories in places and communities around the world. Alongside this, I internationally volunteer as an English teacher, experiences that taught me just as much as I was able to teach. I also had the privilege of co-founding Sea Habitat, a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to restoring underwater algae forests as a natural approach to carbon sequestration.

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THE LIVING ARCHIVE - A Modular Heirloom Tote for a Culture of Longevity

Category: Accessories

Competitions: International

The Living Archive is a large modular leather tote designed as a response to contemporary fast fashion and the growing disposability of modern design. Created from locally sourced Italian vegetable-tanned cattle leather, the bag explores the relationship between permanence, function, material honesty, and cultural preservation. The project challenges the current tendency for functionality to become merely aesthetic rather than genuinely practical. In an era where many products are designed either to visually exaggerate utility or to strip function away entirely in pursuit of minimalism, The Living Archive proposes a return to thoughtful balance: where every detail exists for a purpose, and where beauty emerges from use, construction, and time. This is not a bag designed to remain new. It is designed to remain meaningful. Its sustainability is not defined solely by material selection, but by ideology: repairability, replaceability, modularity, transparency, and emotional longevity. The design is intended to evolve alongside its owner, acquiring patina, marks, and memories that become part of its identity.

In association with Arts Thread

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.