The unique innovation in luxury accessories hitting the UK thanks to a new brand you need to know about:
In what is thought to be a world first, Anglo-Italian brand Civitas Regis has opened parts of the secretive luxury Italian leather industry to exclusively allow them to repurpose their byproduct exotic leathers for a new range of accessories being launched today. The aim is to introduce millions of new ethically-minded and cost-savvy consumers to an otherwise unobtainable taste of luxury.
Targeted at both men and women, the London-based design studio is offering wallets, tech cases, bags and more, crafted entirely from a vast range of Italian made Ostrich, Python, Crocodile, Lizard and Stingray leathers.
Head of Italian Operations, Emanuele Neri, explains the secret behind the new product line:
“We share the same Italian leather tanneries as some of the world’s leading and longest-established fashion houses. But because we work only with their byproduct leather, we are left with significant environmental and cost savings that we can pass directly onto customers. That means haute luxury at an accessible retail price, with a direct environmental impact of almost zero”.
Civitas Regis leather is sourced directly from its partnered Italian tanneries. The leathers begin their renewed life in a huge diversity of sizes, colours, textures and types. They are then sorted, according to their properties, and crafted by skilled in-house British and Italian artisans into the various collections of accessories launched today.
Head of Design, Jordan Kamellard, explains the experience-driven aesthetics of the collections:
“This is about unlocking a type of style which many fashion-lovers see as being too expensive or ethically worrisome. Our approach to the design and sourcing of exotic leather collections gives buyers something that is lovely to hold, look at and be proud of. Expect to see some nifty design elements that really maximise the leather real estate, whilst slimming down the bulkiness usually experienced with some other wallets, tech cases and bags.
Most pieces in it’s collections are retailed accessibly in the middle-to-upper double figures range. This contrasts against the three-to-five figure price tags often demanded for very similar products by some more traditional labels.
Although enjoying their official UK launch today, the Civitas Regis brand has been long in development. After a soft launch in Italy and some other parts of Europe over the last year, the British-run brand has always had the UK market set within its sights.
Mr Neri hopes that the concept is disruptive enough to set a new agenda within the luxury accessories industry that other brands will follow:
“The founding ethos behind our design studio has always been about making something that really redraws a part of the fashion map, particularly in luxury accessories market which has become a bit too complacent in recent years. Saying that is the easy part. But years of negotiation with our Italian tanneries, combined with some really imaginative product design means that we might be seeing the UK leather goods sector trying to play catch-up in the seasons ahead”.
All Civitas Regis products officially launched in the UK today can be found on their website at www.civitasregis.com.