In the Studio
The Expertise Behind Autumn’s Leather Styles
13 May 2024
We’ve always said we know a thing or two about leather. After all, it’s part of our Radley London DNA. And with every new season collection, we have another opportunity to share more of our passion with you.
This Autumn we’ve used lots of leather techniques and craftsmanship details to create our September Edit. And we’ve also extended our expertise with even more leather accessories. (Hint: these styles will be right at home in your wardrobe). So, shall we take a look?
THE LEATHER
Before we dive into all the new leather designs we’re launching this month, let us first tell you a little about the material itself.
Our leather is always responsibly sourced from Leather Working Group (LWG) accredited tanneries, which means they are dedicated to sustainable leather production. You can find out more about this over on our Sustainability page.
Our Design Team then work with our artisans to find the best leather for every style. We’ve written all about this process over on our Craft and Design page.
Did you know? From first sketch to final stitch, it takes a year to craft each one of our handbags.
THE COLOURS
When designing new styles, we first need to find the perfect, on-trend colours. For September, that’s the rich autumnal tones of Dark Rose and Dark Cherry.
“Firstly, we look into the colour predictions that trend forecasters publish a year to two years in advance. We want to make sure our customers can enjoy the relevant trends and colours at the time our products hit the stores, but we also know through experience and intuition what colours work better in certain leathers.” – Zizi, Director of Design
One thing you may not know is that leathers can’t take just any colour, so we need to pick the best ones to show off every shade.
That’s why our Dukes Place collection comes in different leathers – one is a smooth veneer leather like this month’s Dark Cherry multiway bag, while the other is the softer grain, as showcased by the vibrant Dark Rose cross body bag (both pictured).
Where possible, we also use natural tannins to dye our leathers, which are kind to the environment. You’ll often see us describe these styles as ‘vegetable tanned’.
THE TEXTURES
From the structured, faux croc of the new Liverpool Street 2.0 to the soft grained leather of our iconic Baylis Road 2.0 collection. Or even the combination of sumptuous suede and faux snakeskin on the Grosvenor Remastered bags. We love crafting with different textures.
And while we take inspiration from them, we never use exotic or endangered animal skins. Instead, our croc and snakeskin effects are created using textured prints and embossing techniques on bovine hides, which are a by-product of the food industry.
This season, you’ll see a lot of mock croc in our collection. We’ve combined this must-have texture with on-trend boxy shapes to create the new West Mews and Curzon Street bags (above).
Then there are the irresistibly quilted and fluffy styles. The super soft members of our very own cuddle club. A new edition of Hyde Road puts the signature Chesterfield padding alongside shearling sides, and our Peregrine Road bucket bag features soft leopard print faux fur. Along with the puffy Mill Bay XL Quilt in Dark Cherry, we know why these bags will be coveted.
THE DETAILS
Our leather expertise extends into every inch of every bag, down to the smallest detail. On styles like Book Street, this means intricate hand-stitching and lots of foil embossing. Take a closer look at this month’s Spell Journal edition to see how our Designers have chosen inlaid appliqué to bring it to life. These details are handcrafted by artisans we’ve worked with for decades.
“From pattern cutters and seamstresses to edge painters and screen printers, it can take as many as 20 skilled artisans to handmake just one Radley London bag.” – Martyn, Head of Technical, Supply and Product Development
THE FASHION
Did you know we apply our extensive knowledge of leather to our other accessories too? We’re not just talking about purses, but also our new leather jackets (coming soon). In super soft leather, they’ll add a bit of biker attitude to your wardrobe. And our durable leather boots? They’re from the new autumn footwear collection, which combines our signature craftsmanship with inspiration from this season’s catwalks.
Believe it or not, there’s more where these came from. Discover more from the September Edit over on Radley Stories, or head to New In if something has already caught your eye.
