Greenwich University, more known for it's courses on Business Management, Psychology and Marketing opened their School of Fashion last year.
I was invited to give a small talk on Leather to students who would be a part of a high street fashion company in next 2-3 years.
So what is my usual goal when I am addressing a bunch of creative individuals? Specially those who have a creative outburst and their energies need a direction.
I make them inspired. That's my number one goal.
I introduce them to the brands who made leather valuable and continue believing in leather despite the wake of alternative bio-materials and animal rights activism.
My talks are not a monologue. I start with a question that helps me understand sentiment of the audience before I throw in pieces of knowledge. The question is "What comes in your mind when you hear the word Leather?"
The answers have to written on a sticky note and pasted on a wall and someone reads them out loud. This is where I understand what topics to emphasize and to what depth I should be talking about sustainability, animal rights and eventually leather's role in aesthetics.
People usually have a sentiment about "Leather comes from killing animals" or "Leather makes me feel Luxury" or "Winter, Coffee and Jackets" . These sentiments come from the kind of exposure they had, the content they consumed or the experiences they had. And its extremely important to know before they are being bombarded with more information about a material the world is going against.
In countries like Pakistan, high-street fashion brands have almost negligible products made out of real leather despite the fact that Pakistan produces a lot of affordable leather products sold in various B2B and B2C exhibitions outside Pakistan as well as on Ecommerce through marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, Ebay or personal websites.
It's an irony. That a country that still has a eco-system of low to medium end producers, still doesn't have it's high-street fashion brands offering any leather products on their shelves.
I ask the students if they can identify any single brand selling real leather products? The answer is usually HUB Leather or Jafferjees, which are actually not high-street fashion brands. They are legacy leather brands owned by families who have been selling leather products for decades. HUB Leather did transitioned into men's fashion through it's sister brand FHS but very particular and aimed at corporate community.
Fashion brands in Pakistan are not offering any leather products on their shelves. Exception is Junaid Jamshed ( J dot ) which only sells peshawari sandals that too of a low end leather type Laminated PU Leather.
But when I ask the same question about an international brand, the answers from the students are pretty much correct. High-street fashion brands like ZARA or NEXT, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein or HUGO BOSS, not the high-end luxury brands, do offer products made out of real leather.
So what is the reason Pakistan is out of this race? This is the seed I sow into the creative minds.
I also make them realize the nature's cycle and how leather as a bio-material is healthy for the planet's well-being introducing them to eco-tanning methods and life cycle assessments. Although most design students tend to feel averse on this topic, but there's something they need to know even if a tiny bit of it. Because otherwise they'll be greenwashing all their lives.
My final part of the session is usually a team work. At Greenwich University, I grouped the students and asked them to (1) Make a business model for a brand that sells leather products (2) Make a rap song on LEATHUUHH
This was the most fun part. I never realized that creativity can flow so naturally when students were asked to celebrate a material , express their love for it. It's something no leather company has ever thought of. Even no marketing company would come up with such an idea for a leather brand.
Most groups opted to write and sing the rap song. They created lyrics ( some with a help of an AI ) and also made an AI sing the song too. But the whole session had a new energy instilled.
One of the rap songs had these lyrics :
"LEAHTUUUHHH !!
pehlay thay pattay, ab leather ka swag,
desi meri vibe full power ka bag,
tana bana scene, hunar mera flex,
har stitch weave bolay, baby I am the next !
thori si classy , thori si wild,
handmade mera magic, baby I am the styled,
karachi ki heat, mera brand on fire,
har piece unique, mera brand on fire,
weaving leather, kursi par queen ka pose,
tana bana light, jaisay runways kay shows"
Sessions like these instill more motivation in me. I feel hope that leather would have it's heirs who understand the material without any prejudice and stereotype.
And to the education institutions, who are one of the most important stakeholders for any industry's growth.
I wish this could be understood by Pakistan Tanners Association and PLGMEA.
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