Real Leather Stay Different student design competition crowns 2026 winners in Bangkok
loading...
Finals of the Real Leather Stay Different (RLSD) International Student Design Competition concluded with a runway presentation and awards event at Jim Thompson House in Bangkok, Thailand. Organised to promote sustainable fashion practices among emerging talent, the competition drew entries from design institutions worldwide.
Israeli designer Tal Zohar from Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art in Israel secured the overall title with her collection entry ‘Neo-Heritage Tennis Club’. The design incorporates stylistic references from the 1920s and 1970s, interpreting tennis court construction lines and palettes into modern sportswear silhouettes.
Zohar paired a leather jacket, quilted to mimic tennis racquet strings, with a pleated leather skirt made entirely from natural materials. The ensemble was presented alongside accessories including a sun visor and a leather ball bag.
“The brief challenges designers to think about a more sustainable future for fashion asking us to work only with leather and natural materials,” Zohar said. “The strength and durability of leather and the growth of athleisure gave me both inspiration and audience. Tennis Club draws on the journey for female tennis players from the first modern skirts allowing freedom of movement on court to the athleisure of today.”
The competition is backed by the US-based trade association Leather and Hide Council of America (LHCA) in partnership with the UK-based platform Arts Thread. Entrants are required to use natural fibres with a minimum composition of 50 percent bovine leather.
Christopher Koerber, managing director of Swiss entity Hugo Boss Ticino and member of the judging panel, noted the alignment between creative exploration and market readiness.
“We work in a commercial world – where designs need to stand out and sell. But this competition also recognises that change is needed – towards a more considered fashion that has a soft footprint on the planet and a long-lasting imprint on the wardrobe,” Koerber said. “Tal’s work is what this competition is about; stunning design, commercial application and sustainable delivery. No plastics, no untried materials, just a showcase for slow style that is at home at the sports club as it is on the catwalk.”
LHCA president Kerry Brozyna highlighted the role of agricultural co-products in mitigating synthetic textile waste across the global supply chain.
“Most of us understand the damage that fast fashion is doing to the planet,” Brozyna stated. “Every year the leather industry diverts millions of hides, created by our demand for meat and dairy products, from landfill. And from those hides we make leather goods that last a lifetime.”
Brozyna added that providing emerging professionals with technical material experience remains fundamental to counteracting misinformation surrounding natural materials.
The evaluation panel comprised Interhides Public Company Limited board director and general manager Wasin Thumrongsakunvong; Hugo Boss Ticino managing director Christopher Koerber; Asava Group founder and creative director Polpat Asavaprapha, who also serves as chairman of the Bangkok Fashion Society; US sportswear brand New Balance innovation designer Ashin Zhou; Accademia Costume & Moda international director and fashion education consultant Adrien Roberts.
Category winners announced
- Apparel: Tal Zohar from Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art in Israel for ‘Neo-Heritage Tennis Club’, combining bovine leather and natural cotton.
- Accessories: Siang-Ying Lu from SAIC School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the US for ‘Playscape’, a bag patterned from a single circle of surplus leather using zero additional cuts.
- Footwear: Roscha Dinler from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany for ‘Fragmented Structure’, featuring footwear assembled from leather production scraps shaped directly on the last.
- People’s Choice: Tran Trong Nghi Nguyen from Ton Duc Thang University in Vietnam for ‘Champa - The Legacy’, an evening dress referencing Bàu Trúc ceramic textures through leather craftsmanship.
- Host Nation Award: Kittidech Chankraithong from Srinakharinwirot University in Thailand for ‘Rode-Mail’, featuring an ensemble incorporating traditional Thai gold-leaf gilding techniques on leather substrates.