AN undergraduate student from Birchwood, Warrington, has won through to the finals of the national stage of the 2021 international leather design competition Real Leather, Stay Different, by Leather UK, the trade body for the UK leather industry.
Aneta Milaszewicz from Manchester Metropolitan University, was selected as winner of the apparel category.
Aneta created warm, colourful outwear design with a military twist – inspired by a recently discovered family connection with Siberia and WWII – and the highly decorated traditional dress of the Nenets, a Siberian tribe that reveres that reindeer that clothe and feed it.
The initiative invites undergraduate students from eligible universities and design schools to submit “unique, astonishing and compelling” designs across a range of categories that encourage the use of leather, now and in the future, and can set global trends for style-conscious fashion consumers.
Dr Kerry Senior, Leather UK director explains the aim of Real Leather, Stay Different: “Young design talent is the lifeblood of our industry. Once students are introduced to the beauty and versatility of leather and learn that it is a highly sustainable by-product, they love the challenge of developing the technical skills to create innovative design concepts.
“Our judging panel, comprising leather experts, leather designers and fashion experts assessed entrants in a blind process that focused on their ability to present a visually appealing style and an innovative concept. They were also on the lookout for leather that was used in new ways in traditional categories.”
Summing up the judges’ comments, Victoria Townsend, The London Academy of Bespoke said: “Designs were thoughtful and concise and the delivery of each candidate’s message and process of getting to that message was inspiring to judge. We have chosen the candidates that we felt excelled in all areas of the brief and offered an extra spark of artisanal skill.”
Leather UK’s annual design competition is run in association with and sponsored by the Leather & Hide Council of America (LHCA), which runs the international iteration of Real Leather, Stay Different.
UK’s Rollacoaster the teen magazine that showcases emerging new talents in Fashion, Music and Entertainment, will feature the work of a selection of national winners and the international competition winner in a high-fashion editorial feature/photo-shoot in its September 2021 edition, produced by a renowned photographer and stylist.
There will also be a write-up in world-famous sister magazine, WONDERLAND.
