Úna Burke

Úna Burke is a multi-award winning luxury leather designer and artist. Brought up in Ireland and now working from her South London atelier, Úna uses traditional leather-working techniques in the development of complex architectural constructions. With this distinct identity of leather panelling and brass fittings, Úna makes both seasonal fashion collections and sculptural art pieces. The fashion collections include handbags, belts, jewellery and abstract body pieces, while the art pieces are figurative in form and are developed on commission for private art collections, public exhibitions and museum archives. Each piece produced in the Úna Burke Atelier is crafted by hand from British and Italian vegetable tanned bovine leathers. Vegetable tanning is a method of leather production which is kinder to the earth and for this reason, among others, the brand has been awarded the Positive Luxury Butterfly Mark. Úna’s work is often concept based with influence commonly taken from psychological and military sources. While studying for her MA in Fashion Artefact at Cordwainers, London College of Fashion, she produced her iconic “Wearable Art” collection, RE.TREAT and won the Design Award for Best Static Collection. Setting up her eponymous label in 2010, she has gone on to win several more national and international awards including Irish Designer of the Year 2011 and a nomination for the WGSN Global Fashion Awards. Úna's work has been exhibited across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and USA and regularly appears in publications such as Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Collezioni and Numero. Clients and collaborators include SHOWstudio, Daphne Guinness, The Hunger Games, Phillip Lim, Jennifer Lawrence, Lady Gaga, The Simone Handbag Museum, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, National Museum of Ireland, Ridley Scott Productions, 2012 Olympics, L’Oreal, Fox Network, Madonna, i-D, Joyce Boutique, Dazed and Confused, Crafts Council of Ireland, Ozzy Osbourne, Dawn Richard, On Pedder, Heidi Klum, Panos Yiapanis, Elva, Nicki Minaj, Doda, Mert and Marcus, Charlene Muhlach, Charlotte Stockdale, Unconditional, Haifa Wehbe, Judith Clarke, Anna Trevelyan, JLS, Robbie Spencer, LOVE magazine, Vogue Homme. See more projects, press coverage, online shop, commissions and collaborations on the newly designed website www.unaburke.com