The experience of leather

Leather gets reimagined at an installation at Design Miami/Basel 2012, with both a tactile and visual investigation into the possibilities of the material.

Luxury Italian fashion house, Fendi, presents the Design Performance programme at Design Miami/Basel 2012.

The programme offers visitors a rare glimpse into the workshops and creative processes of designers.

For this year’s event, Fendi invited design studio Formafantasma to develop a “tactile and visual investigation into leather”, entitled "Craftica".

In an event that sees the designers blending tradition and experimental production processes using discarded Fendi materials, the final body of work is aimed at celebrating a crafted product’s unique process, materials and value.

The designers explain that their work is inspired by the symbolic connotations of leather, “representing the complex relationship between humans and nature”. The work also offers a holistic view on the possibilities of leather as a material in the design process.

Formafantasma used discarded leather left over from Fendi manufacturing processes. The range of “leathers” used include fish skins, vegetal-processed leather using natural substances from tree bark, cork leather from cork trees and a series of animal bladders.

These seemingly exotic materials were employed to create a variety of objects, including tools and furniture. Examples of the objects created include a collection of glass lights hung on belts and hooks; a table and room divider produced from vegetal tanned rawhide; and a collection of stools that take their cue from organic forms and fin-like legs.

At the event in Basel, Switserland, which runs until 17 June 2012, Formafantasma will produce new pieces to add to the installation, together with in-house Fendi craftsmen.

Watch the Trailer with Studio Formafantasma