Introduction

Nowadays, elegant and exclusive material used for making accessories and clothing; in the past, resource employed by our ancestors to defend themselves from the cold with makeshift robes. This is the story of the skin.

History from leather

The history of leather is a long one, very long indeed. Early attempts at drying allowed cavemen to obviate the problem of decomposition; as the centuries passed, it was understood that exposing the skin to the fumes of bonfires had the advantage of preserving the texture and quality of the highly valuable material. Thus, aldehyde tanning was born.

And since human history is a succession of small-big revolutions, it is not surprising that our ancestors refined leatherworking gradually but steadily. The discovery of vegetable tanning inside basins filled with water and bark allowed for mastery of the basics of coloring and maintenance of primitive clothing.

The question then arises: what were the key moments that enabled leather to spread like wildfire from East to West, and to encapsulate within it a long tradition of manufacturing and craftsmanship?

Let’s find out together.

Leather processing in the time of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans

Our brief historical survey cannot ignore the spread of leather among Egyptian, Phoenician, Hellenic and Latin peoples. Leather became an easily procured resource, employed not only for making clothing but also for making ornamental accessories.

As the centuries passed, tanning techniques enabled the Greeks to toughen the material in question to the point where it became a very valuable coating for shields and armor. The spread of leather in warfare reached its peak during the period of the Holy Roman Empire.

In any case, the undisputed tanning masters of antiquity were undoubtedly the ancient Arab traders. The latter became the first to introduce ornamental techniques that enabled leather to be decorated with a series of carvings executed with creativity and a steady hand. From the Middle East, leatherworking spread to Europe as well.

Every era has seen leather used as garments, footwear, bags and purses, furniture, as well as containers for food and even currency, a practice that fell quickly due to the difficulty of making it.

A journey through time to discover leather in the Renaissance and the 19th century

The spread of leather in the Bel Paese is attested in the Renaissance period. The material in question was used in the decoration of the walls of the Ducal Palace in Urbino, inaugurating a long-lived tradition of ornamentation and tanning art. It was not until the last decade of the nineteenth century that chromium tanning was discovered, carried out through the use of chromium salts and sodium bicarbonate.

The advantages?

On the one hand, leather production was speeded up and, on the other hand, processing costs-those of leather, first and foremost-were lowered. Thus it was that leather was transformed into a versatile, elegant and durable material .

Unlike chrome-tanned leather, vegetable-tanned leather is still more valuable today, although difficult to work with because of its inherent stiffness. Data in hand, the vast majority of products made from leather today are still tanned using the chrome technique (80-90%).

Industry, technology and development: a perspective on the future of leather

The tricolor manufacturing tradition is among the most prolific in history, from the 20th century to the present, with a history as fascinating as it is prestigious. With more than 1,300 companies located throughout the Bel Paese, it is not surprising that leather processing stands, by right, among the cornerstones of tricolor craftsmanship, fashion and refinement that is envied throughout the world.

In addition, the spread of technology across a wide variety of industries and commodities has fostered the emergence of highly efficient, as well as more environmentally friendly, processing strategies and techniques.

And as the export of Made in Italy achieves major milestones for our country’s economy, the future prospects are looking brighter and brighter. History teaches us that human creativity and ingenuity never have an end: all that remains is to preserve the tanning culture of our land, with the same passion as our predecessors.

Fashion, design and sustainability

It must be said that leather is not only a valuable material, it is also definitely versatile as it lends itself to disparate uses. Fashion, in its most courageous, subversive, daring essence, has made the Leather a must-have that has characterized every era, from the unforgettable 1980s, a decade in which leather garments were a real status symbol, to today, an era in which a very high level of luxury, durability, strength and, of course, style are distinguished with leather.

While leather is a stable fixture in fashion, it must be said that its uses are successfully rampant in a number of areas: architecture and interior design, for example.

Leather furniture accessories are, to this day, synonymous with value and class, timeless style, characterizing a profile ranging from classic to modern.

And dulcis in fundo, leather comes from antiquity to the present through a journey made under the banner of sustainability .

In fact, leather treated in tanneries is the result of processing waste materials that would otherwise be not only unused but also difficult to dispose of. A noble use, then, of a food company waste.

A journey, that of leather, that starts from afar and comes down to us, with the promise and commitment to continue to surprise and lend itself to new innovations and experimentation.