The Leather & Hide Council of America (LHCA) has selected Taipei, Taiwan, as the host city for the landmark fifth annual Real Leather. Stay Different. (RLSD) International Student Design Competition final, scheduled for October 27-28, 2025.
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Meet the Judges 2025
Following celebrated events in London and Milan, the competition now sets its sights on Taipei, underscoring Asias rising prominence as a global hub for innovation and fashion design.
The prestigious final will be hosted at AMBI SPACE ONE, Taiwan’s first intelligent, immersive venue, situated within Taipei’s iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper – which is also the world’s tallest green building. This exceptional location highlights the intersection of technology, creativity, and sustainability at the heart of RLSD’s mission.
Category winners in Apparel, Footwear, Accessories and People’s Choice, alongside the RLSD Taiwan 2025 overall winner, will travel on an all-expenses-paid trip to Taipei. Finalists will present their sustainable leather creations to a distinguished panel of industry experts, including Christopher Koerber (Managing Director, Hugo Boss), Mike Adler (international celebrity stylist), Kora Hsieh (Editor-in-Chief, Harper’s BAZAAR Taiwan), Adrien Roberts (International fashion education consultant) and acclaimed fashion influencer Yu Lee.
Christopher Koerber, Managing Director at Hugo Boss and a longstanding supporter of RLSD, commented, “Supporting the RLSD competition continues to be deeply rewarding. Bringing the 2025 final to Taipei is especially exciting as it provides an extraordinary platform for nurturing young talent and encouraging designers to embrace sustainable natural materials like leather. This initiative is critical, promoting innovation and environmentally responsible practices that are essential for the future of fashion.”
Kerry Brozyna, President of the Leather & Hide Council of America, stated, “In just five short years, RLSD has evolved into a globally recognised initiative, successfully advocating for leather as a sustainable alternative to synthetic materials. Hosting the international final in Taipei marks a new chapter, highlighting our ongoing commitment to industry leadership, innovation and the importance of empowering the next generation of designers. This is just the beginning of our vision – a world where sustainable natural materials are the first choice for designers everywhere.”
Finalists will also benefit from extensive media exposure and the opportunity to feature their designs in the prestigious RLSD Capsule Collection, showcased globally at prominent fashion and sustainability events throughout the year.
The competition remains open to current fashion students and graduates from 2023 or 2024. Designs must contain at least 50% cattle hide leather and fall into one of three categories: Apparel, Footwear, or Accessories.
Entries close at 11:59 pm (BST), 30 June 2025. Full details and entry submissions: rlsd.internationaldesigncomp.com.
About Real Leather. Stay Different.
Real Leather. Stay Different. is a global campaign that has reached some 750 million people and hundreds of thousands of students. It makes the case for leather (and other natural materials) and for making the best use of society’s waste, particularly the hides that are the by-products of the dairy and meat industries, before looking to the petrochemical industries for manmade materials. Flexible and durable, leather is the natural alternative to fast fashion.
About Arts Thread
Arts Thread is the worlds leading digital platform for emerging artists & designers and a launchpad for the next generation of creative talent. Arts Thread has built relationships with over 950 creative institutions connecting to over 400,000 students in approximately 130 countries, partnering with leading brands, organisations, events, media to help launch the next generation of creative talent globally. For further information please visit www.artsthread.com.
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