Leather like wood

Graduated in 2016, Elena is a Russian designer based in London. Her final collection of Fashion Artefacts exposes the interaction in between such controversial notions as luxury and refuse. Elena is successful footwear designer with an experience of leather manufacture process. The insight of the industry problem such as an enormous amount of leather waste influenced her collection. She was inspired by the sheer quantity of waste materials in the studio and manufacturing process and through experimentation with leather offcuts has developed a new material, ‘leather like wood’, which can be used in a series of luxury applications from accessories and footwear to interiors. Combined with other non-traditional materials of rubber, plastic and wood, Elena is demonstrating a feeling of desire and splendor that is possible to achieve through processes that are mindful of their environmental impacts.
‘I want to create a rich and unusual aesthetic beauty. I want to embody the heritage of craftsmanship through the prism of modern technology.’
The collection took part in KERING Award in 2015 and was the finalist for the brand Alexander McQueen. And in 2017 got the A Design Award in Arts, Crafts and Ready-Made Design Category, 2016-2017 and was exhibited in Como, Italy.