Leather: Saffiano

The third part in our 3-part leather series takes us to our last category of leather: Saffiano. 

Saffiano leather was developed in Italy and patented by Prada. It is defined by using the highest quality of calf leather tanned with vegetable oil and coating it with wax where a cross hatch print was imbedded into the wax. The purpose? To create a layer that is water resistant.

Today, A LOT of designers have adopted this method of coating and stamping a design onto leather. However, many of the coatings today are a mixture of composite coatings and plastic. During the production process, the manufactures will be able to establish a degree of durability and quality. As you can see the cross-hatch style has been easy to emulate because we see this style across major brands such as Prada, Coach, Kate Spade, etc.  

The original Saffiano leather is still in production using the calf hides and composite wax coating----mainly in high end bags and accessories. The cost to replicate the original production process makes it prohibitive for general use or smaller businesses. So, even though the patent has expired the traditional Saffiano product it is still a luxury item.

Another quality of Saffiano leather is that the leather used does not have to be the highest quality. Lower end hides can be used, coated and pressed to disguise any flaws or surface imperfections in the leather. The use of Polyurethane (PU) or Polyvinylchloride (PVC) as the coating before being stamped makes this leather a highly attractive and very durable product. Even, the price is more attractive and very economical for trendy fashion. 

As a reminder when PVC or PU is utilized in the manufacturing/coating process,  plastic is being added to a leather handbag.