Exclusive Interview - Napsugar
Following her shows at London Fashion Week during late 2013, Leather International spoke with Budapest-based fashion designer Napsugár about her relationship with leather and how it's incorporated in her collections. Long before, however, she started out designing costumes for film sets, which laid the foundation for the creative, ethereal concepts she honed at Dolce & Gabbana and, eventually, for the Napsugár brand. Here, we feature some of her latest creations, as well as some insight from the designer herself.
"Leather is very similar to the human skin, it's alive and breathes. I believe that clothes function as some kind of a second skin for us, and the best thing about it is that the older it gets, the more precious it is - like wine and women. I also love leather because it can't be made by machines due to its special texture. Leather was here on earth since the very beginning of time; it has that old, sacred knowledge, and can be found everywhere in the realms of nature."
"The laser-cutting technology we use is called galvo-laser cutting. We produce our jackets with the help of a professional Italian laser-cutting machine, which functions at a high-level of speed. We work with a special firm because they are the best in Europe. Löewe, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Gareth Pugh and many other designers also make their laser-cut products there. The motifs from my LFW collection specifically have their origins in the seven cardinal sins of the Bible. These sins appear as separate slices of a circle, forming a homogenous, complete graphic motif on laser-cut and screen-printed surfaces."
"I look for leather that has the minimum amount of chemicals inside them, mostly plant-based and natural-bated livestock leather; maybe washable leather. We don't use exotic leathers. So I would say I like natural leathers with a twist."
"It's hard to find appropriate and trustworthy suppliers, so I get all my leather from super high-quality tanneries, mostly from south Italy, from Firenze down to Napoli. These guys have hundreds of years of expertise and know-how in the leather industry. Before each collection, I travel to Italy and talk to them about every detail, like the surface manipulation and colour chart of the leathers. Last year, I got my inspiration from a multicolor Tahiti pearl bracelet, so my tanners managed to dye those exact colors in their laboratory for me."
If you are a designer and you would be interested in talking with Leather International about your collections please contact Jeremy Skinner on jskinner@leathermag.com or +44 (0) 20 7936 6943.
