We’re Making big moves! …WHat’s NEXT FOR SIEME
So, as we finally whip off those pesky masks (even our 100% silk ones), you may have wondered, what’s next for Sieme?
The ironic thing is that I had always intended to launch Sieme as a handbag brand. Like so many of us, The Pandemic forced me to pivot and create a better design for a product people needed ASAP. However, 2+ years ago I had a (seemingly) crazy idea to craft artisan handbags out of discarded leather from local luxury production. After working with handbag factories in Florence, I saw up close just how much leather, used to make the most expensive bags in the world, was being thrown away. Even as someone who has worked in fashion for 10+ years, it shocked me.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization estimates that an average of 20% and up to 40% of materials used during the accessories production process are ultimately discarded in some way. The hard truth is that no one can quantify exactly how much leather this actually is, but I scoured as many reports as I could find, crunched all the numbers and my best estimate is 8 -17 million square feet of leather in Italy alone, every single year! (figures bases on annual reports from UNIDOS, European Commission, UNIC)
While recycling is mandated in Italy, the programs are costly with the financial burden resting on each individual manufacturer and no collective oversight. So in lay-mans terms, when money is tight, recycling is the first thing to get cut.
Here was a problem I knew I could build a solution for. Italy produces the finest leather in the world, and while 99.5% is a byproduct of the meat industry, I believe we should treat it with the respect it deserves.
Many years ago at my first design internship in New York, I would watch a master leather craftsman named Arthur work with our most difficult and expensive materials. I was in awe of the care and precision with which he worked. One day he turned to me and said…
His words have always stuck with me. And so for almost 2 years, I have been working on the ground in Tuscany to design a process by which we can collect this leather scrap and repurpose it into beautiful accessories. This is the biggest design challenge of my life and also the most invigorating. In the next few weeks and months I will be highlighting some of the amazing partners I have found to help me create these products. To make true change it takes a village and all that I am building at Sieme is meant to be shared with any and all who would like to join.
I am so excited to report that we are finally SO CLOSE to our first collection and I can’t wait to share it with you. Working with so many different types of materials has led us to some amazing techniques like hand woven leather and hand cut fringe applied to totes, crossbodies and clutches. All of it crafted entirely in Italy from luxury leather that would otherwise end up in landfills or burned. True to the vision of the fashion industry I want to see, ALL of our bags are crafted by small family-owned factories and individual artisans. And because of these artisan techniques, no 2 bags will ever be identical so you can always have “the only one ever made.” Our goal is to launch the collection for Fall 2021.
I have always believed in the power of fashion, that fashion at its core, is our ability to outwardly express who we are to the world. Whether we deem ourselves “fashionable” or not, we all participate in fashion by means of self-expression. Somewhere along the way, it became acceptable not to know or care where, how, or by whom your things were made.
And that is where you come in. All of your support this year has given me the confidence to put these designs out into the world.
If you are just as excited about the next step in the Sieme journey as I am, please help us spread the word.
The more people on our email list when we launch, the more successful we will be. We will also be offering exclusive first access + specials to our Family and Friends when we launch!
With this next step for Sieme, I am building the fashion world I always wanted to be a part of and I really hope you will join me ….
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