‘Leather is so durable, it will be around long after us’ – fashion designer Siobhán Curtis on sustainability and strength

‘I learned to work with leather while I was doing a course in Budapest, Hungary. The application was in English so I thought it would be OK, but when I got there, the entire thing was taught in Hungarian,” says fashion designer Siobhán Curtis, laughing. Her fellow students helped her by translating, she adds. “Although I was learning about leather, I didn’t know any of the technical terms because of the language barrier.”

Back at NCAD, Curtis interned at the Dublin Leather Store in Stoneybatter to fill in her blind spots. “I learned about traditional craftsmanship and then put my own conceptual twist on it. I’ve been working beside the last master glovemaker in Ireland, Brian Horn.”

With her skills honed, Curtis began her concept piece, titled ‘Fight or Flight’. “For my final-year project, I started with the concept of stress. I’m a very high-stress person behind closed doors. I wondered what stress looks like. I began making continuous shapes and motions to convey the build-up of stress.

“I dipped a string into ink and placed it, in a design I wanted, on a sheet of paper. I folded the paper in half and then pulled the string through. When you open it up, you have this abstract but symmetrical shape.”

Curtis had these ink drawings hanging in her studio when a student pointed out they looked like Rorschach tests — a method of psychological testing that uses inkblot images; the viewer describes what they see and their responses are interpreted by a psychologist. “It was a full-circle moment,” says Curtis.

Her experimental research created a tangible shape for her to work from and she began to sculpt the leather winged piece, pictured above.

“It has a cage form underneath that can be taken apart and reconstructed into different shapes. Like an inkblot test, it can be perceived in many ways,” explains Curtis. “During the pandemic, welding was one of those weird things I picked up. My dad had some scrap metal and a welding gun, so I found bits I could work with.

“The leather on the piece is made from leather upholstery scraps from a store in Monaghan. It was for waste, and I just asked if I could have it.”

Curtis began making a dress to place under her leather winged structure, but soon realised it was a piece in its own right. “The black dress is made from vegetable-tanned hide leather, which you can wet-mould by stretching and shaping.”

The arresting finished piece was featured in Life in April, worn by Irish Eurovision entrant Bambie Thug.

“Working with leather can be quite controversial,” says Curtis. “I think as long as we have a meat and dairy industry, there’s going to be a by-product of leather.” This hide would end up in landfill if designers like her didn’t find a use for it, she says. “It’s throwing away something that would outlast us. It’s such a durable product.”

Instagram: @siobhan.curtis

Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan's exclusive take on the day's news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.