Italian Leather & Nigeria.
the truth about Italian leather...
Disclaimer: I will be using the word ‘allegedly’ /‘claims’ for credibility purposes only.
In 2024, a Tik Tok user, Isa Bako, under the username ‘the_new_boogie’, sparked a relevant conversation on his account that is yet to be widely addressed.
In a Tik Tok video, which since has gone viral, he expressed the alleged reason why we no longer hear of the term ‘Italian leather’ as often as we used to because, he claims it later became known as Genuine leather. And that is because “Italian leather was never actual from Italy“, as he says, at least not all of it. I explained the process of how leather is made in my Birkin Bag article, just for more context that may help you better understand the significance of his statement.
According to Will McBain on African Business, ‘Made in Italy’ stamps are put on designer items that were made from hide that was sourced from Nigeria, treated in Italian tanneries, after also having been treated in Nigeria prior to being packaged and exported. The hide is then turned into suede, which is another form of leather, and then manufactured into designer goods and sold (McBain, 2021). This backs up the statement Mr Bako said about Italian Leather not actually being Italian Leather.
Mr Bako also went on to say that the Nigerian Leathers Manufacturers Union/ National Leather & Leather Products Association of Nigeria (NALPAN) hired his sister, which he did not name, to take on a case that would correct the ‘Italian leather’ labels that would be put on items, made of leather sourced from Nigeria. He continued to mention that although the conclusion of the case did not end in renaming Italian leather, Nigerian leather, but rather ended with Italian being replaced with the word ‘Genuine’.
Although, due to the lack of access to the court case and the details surrounding it, to many, his claims may not be convincing. I, however, believe it is important to mention, as someone who used to follow Mr Isa Bako on Tik Tok prior to his account being suspended; he once mentioned, not in these exact words, that he is from a family that holds a high status in Nigeria. He also expressed that he did not want to be a part of that life and was vocal about his disapproval of the power dynamics his family/father was involved in. He, of course, did not go into great detail and because his account is suspended, I will not elaborate any further on this to avoid misquoting him. Considering this information, which based on my research on the Bako family in Nigeria, seems to align. His family seems to be from Northen Nigeria which is where most leather tannery happens. Considering his brief affiliation with an affluent society, he can be considered a credible source because there is a high chance that he knows many things that are along the nature of this topic than the public do not know.
He also went on to to explain that the hide (animal skin) from cows, goats, cattle and the likes are sourced from all over Nigeria and taken to northern Nigeria where the skins are turn’t into leather through tannery processes. There is then a middleman who provides these ready-made leathers to the manufacturers of designer companies like Louis Vuitton. In an article written by Adedoyin Adeniji on Vogue titled “Can Made in Africa Transform the Continent’s Leather Industry?” it was also revealed that Nigerian leather has been sold to manufacturers of Ralph Lauren as well. It is important to note that these companies have been said to source leather from all of Africa, not just Nigeria exclusively. To validate this statement, Hermes is a luxury brand that uses leather from Africa which they use to make Togo Leather Birkins, one of the most popular Birkins in the market.
Winston Udeagha, founder and CEO of Winston Leathers, prior to expanding his business by making bags, was one of the leather suppliers to designer fashion houses like Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren (Givens, 2021). This clearly proves that European designer brands do source some of their leather from Africa and therefore can prove Mr Bako’s allegations to be true. However, due to the lack of access to tangible information like the details of the court case, the full list of designer houses that use Nigerian hide to make their leather, the name of Mr Bako’s sister who took on this case, etc. It is a difficult conversation to popularize because it is not backed up by enough valid evidence.
However, we can depend on Mr Udeagha’s credibility as he owns a leatherworks manufacturing company that has expanded into a fashion brand. Based on his interview with the Business Outsider, Dana Givens wrote that when Winston Leathers was founded in the early 90s they (the company Winston Leathers) were mainly supplying leather to companies, one of them being Ralph Lauren (Givens, 2021), as we previously established. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council website states that 71% of leather exports from the country are to Italy and Spain. Premium goatskin leather mainly goes to Italy, accounting for 68% of the trade in this category and Spain imports 21% of Nigeria's goatskin leather (TRT Afrika, 2024).
With this information in mind there is a relatively strong chance that Mr Bako’s statements in his viral Italian Leather video are true.
Nigeria over the years has become more known for their skilled artisans, mind-blowing designs and final products from brands like VeeKee James, Zashudu, KiingDaviids, Kilentar, etc. Despite the decrease in leather production companies, the fashion industry has not stopped growing with new leatherworks brands like “The Shoe Blocc'‘establishing themselves in the industry and aiding the “Made-In-Africa” movement that has been slowly, yet effectively, growing in the African continent, especially in the West.
I believe we will begin to see a more rapid rise and success in Made-In-Africa brands that will emerge from the continent in the next years to come.
Bibliography
McBain, Will. “Africa’s Tanneries Go Hell for Leather to Supply New Markets.” African Business, 6 July 2021, african.business/2021/07/energy-resources/africas-tanneries-go-hell-for-leather-to-supply-new-markets.
Adeniji, Adedoyin. “Can Made in Africa Transform the Continent’s Leather Industry?” Vogue Business, 21 Jan. 2021, www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/can-made-in-africa-transform-the-continents-leather-industry. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Givens, Dana. “Nigerian Designer Aims to Make Luxury Fashion Inclusive with Handbags.” Business Insider, 25 Aug. 2021, www.businessinsider.com/winston-leather-handbags-designer-making-luxury-more-accessible-2021-8. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
TRT Afrika, TRT Afrika. “How Nigeria Leather Is Sustaining Europe’s Designer Brands.” Trtafrika.com, TRT Afrika, 14 Nov. 2024, trtafrika.com/insight/how-nigeria-leather-is-sustaining-europes-designer-brands-18232048. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.