Turning to designers and leather, the second panel looked at what factors are preventing them from using more of it. From the footwear perspective, Kerry Brozyna, vice president and general manager of Wolverine Leather and Materials Sourcing at Wolverine Worldwide, presented the results of a survey of their brand designers regarding what elements are most important to them. “Designers want to work with suppliers who understand their brand’s specific needs,” Brozyna said, emphasizing that responsiveness to customers is critical for suppliers.

Marketing is also key, as Jacopo Pesavento managing partner of Branding Records in Hong Kong, stressed. One of the criticisms of leather marketing found online is that in most cases, it is very dated and out of touch with today’s younger consumers. Further, Orietta Pelizzari of Mattori Studio, Ashley Li Nan, founder of the Yijin Fashion Design Centre and Emma Zhang, founder of Beijing Leadership consulting, presented the fashion designer’s perspective on using leather, with Pelizzari summing it all up by saying this: Designers aren’t going to use leather just because they like it as a material. They will use it because it is the right material to tell the story they want to convey with their collections.