More and more leather goods (mostly handbags) are made of ‘Saffiano’ leather. It is a durable and functional material that is resistant to dirt and scratches and is easy to clean. But what is Saffiano leather?
Let's try to figure it out.
Saffiano leather is not to be confused with Saffian (Morocco leather).
Saffian is a thin, soft leather of different colors, made by vegetable tanning, usually from goat skins, and less often from sheep, calf, and foal skins. The secret of its production was known in Russia since the XII century. Initially (in Pushkin's time) saffian was the name of a goat skin tanned with sumac and dyed in any of the bright colors. Nowadays it is not produced.
‘Saffiano’ is a textured (with special diagonal embossing) calfskin, where the texture is machine-made and resistant to various dirt and scratches. The embossing is applied by machine for 10-15 seconds at a temperature of 165°C.
Saffiano leather is believed to be of Italian ‘origin’ and the patent for Saffiano was originally obtained by Prada. It is quite possible that the author was Mario Prada himself and it became one of Prada's masterpieces. The first ‘Saffiano’ bags were made in 1913 when Prada began his journey as a handbag designer.
Almost 100 years have passed and in 2012 ‘Saffiano’ simply exploded the world of fashion and received a well-deserved title of the brightest event of the year.
Today it is also produced and widely used in the production of luxury bags, famous brands: Love Moschino, DKNY, Michael Kors ....
After the application of such embossing, the leather becomes hardly similar to the familiar look of natural leather, and its popularity has spawned the production of synthetic materials with a similar texture.
Pay attention to detail when purchasing ‘Saffiano’ leather goods.