Full-grain leather isn't automatically the better choice. Portland's Monaco bag in full-grain cobalt loses its shape; the same bag in top-grain chocolate brown holds it perfectly. The leather grade isn't the deciding factor here. Firmness is.

Chanel employees just got sentenced for stealing bags destined for destruction. The trial took 10 years and revealed Chanel was destroying 10,000–20,000 items every 6 months in Hong Kong alone. Chanel says that stopped in 2019. Burberry and Cartier did the same thing. Europe's now moving to ban it. Researching what happens to unsold luxury goods today for a full deep dive. Industry insiders, my inbox is open. Stay leathertained. #Chanel #LuxuryFashion #Shorts

Everyone's been saying Portland Leather got worse. So I bought 8 bags, $960, to find out. Two of the newer leathers? The complaints are valid. The classics? Untouched. The stitching? Actually better than 2022.

Every stall in Florence's leather market says the same two words: Italian leather. I grew up in a family tannery in Turkey and spent thirty years in this industry, and I still couldn't tell you what those words actually guarantee, so I went to find out. What I found in the tourist market didn't match what the label promised. A few streets over, in two small workshops, it did, and every person I asked pointed to the same place: Santa Croce sull'Arno, a town most travel guides skip, where a consortium of eighteen tanneries still vegetable-tans leather the way it's been done here since the 1200s. This is the difference between the label and the thing the label was built on, and why most of what's sold under it today isn't that anymore. stay leathertained. --- SPECIAL THANKS I'd like to extend my gratitude to the friends who let us into their craft for this video. If you'd like to see their work or reach out with questions, they're all below: MPG Tannery (Giardi family) — my continued source of Italian veg-tan for my collection IG: https://www.instagram.com/mpgindustriaconciariasrl/ Web: https://mpg.it/ Il Busetto — the wet-formed veg-tan craftsman shop IG: https://www.instagram.com/giuseppefanara1989/ Web: https://www.giuseppefanara.com/it/ Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale — a great resource to learn about the craft and the partner tanneries IG: https://www.instagram.com/consorzioverapelle/ Web: https://www.pellealvegetale.it/ Il Bisonte — one of the best brands representing true Florence essence in the modern leather market IG: https://www.instagram.com/ilbisonteofficial/ Web: https://www.ilbisonte.com/en Benheart — an incredible brand with a heart-warming story and thoroughly modern designs built on Italian veg-tan IG: https://www.instagram.com/benheartitaly/ Web: https://www.benheart.it/ --- CHAPTERS/TIMESTAMPS 0:00 – Why I came to Florence with a question Thirty years in leather, born into a family tannery, and I still couldn't answer what "Italian leather" actually means today. 0:57 – Florence's famous leather market Every stall says the same two words. Something about the leather itself didn't add up. 1:40 – Talking to the tourists buying it Complete confidence, because why wouldn't you be? You're in the leather capital of the world. 3:01 – Two shops, a few streets away No racks, no fluorescent lights, no signage in four languages. Just a smell that changed everything. 3:49 – The name every one of them gave me A town you won't find in most travel guides, but if you're in leather, you know it. 4:19 – Inside the vegetable-tanning consortium Eighteen Tuscan tanneries, one method, and a guild that traces back to 1282. 5:58 – Vegetable tanning vs. chrome tanning One takes weeks and can't be rushed. The other became the industry standard. Here's why. 7:56 – Inside a family tannery, second generation The father who built it, the daughters running it now, and what the early years actually cost him. 9:33 – A craft in negotiation with nature No flaw in the raw material gets hidden here; it gets amplified. 10:16 – Where "Italian leather" actually came from This is the reputation the label was built on, and what earned it in the first place. 11:20 – A pattern I've seen before Reputation outgrows the craft, scale kicks in, and the name stops pointing at the thing that earned it. 12:17 – The craft isn't gone — it's just rare The tanneries still doing this the hard way aren't doing it because it's profitable. 13:05 – The clarity I left with What "Italian leather" is when the label is telling the truth, and what most of the market is selling instead. --- PRODUCTS FEATURED: Check out our Italian Veg-tan collection here: https://www.tannerleatherstein.com/collections/tuscan-crafted-with-certified-italian-vegtan-bull-shoulders --- SHOP LINK FOR MY BRAND THE HOUSE OF LEATHER: https://www.tannerleatherstein.com/ STOW LONDON: https://stowlondon.co.uk/ --- SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS Follow me on my social media pages where I post content regularly. TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tanner.leatherstein Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanner.leatherstein/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tanner.leatherstein1 --- HOW TO CONTACT: You may contact me on any of my social media accounts above or send me an email at business@tannerleatherstein.com. --- #italianleather #madeinitaly #tannerleatherstein

This week: why Chanel destroyed 10,000–20,000 bags every six months in 2016, Ralph Lauren's new "Polo Blaze" bag line from Paris Fashion Week, and the viral jelly Birkin under $100. Watch the full episode of The Leather Report.

You've been asking for years — did Portland Leather's quality drop as they scaled? I bought 8 bags across every leather type currently in their catalog, no cherry-picking, and put each one under the same eye I'd use on a $3,000 bag. What I found: the leather itself is a mixed bag — some genuinely nice, some budget filler — but the construction and stitching are noticeably better than my last review a few years back. I also traced their production, priced out what one of these actually costs to make in Mexico, and worked out the real markup once the discount codes are factored in. Every bag is unaltered. Nothing was cut open — just the small sample size (a tag) needed to test one leather's finish. All 8 bags will be resold to fund the next review. This video is fully independent — no sponsorship, no gifted product. Every bag was purchased at full price. NOTE: The labor cost is based on the complexity of the design of the product and is a “guesstimate” of the labor cost we think we’ll incur if we were to make the same products in our workshop. It is not based on the time it takes for the brand to finish the product. #PortlandLeather #LeatherReview #HandbagReview stay leathertained. --- CHAPTERS/TIMESTAMPS 0:00 – Why we're back at Portland Leather Three or four years since the last review, tariffs reshuffled global production, and the requests kept coming. 1:27 – The $1,000 budget, 8 bags Every leather type in their current catalog, ordered the same way any customer would. 3:33 – Unboxing everything at once Individually boxed, branded tissue, a packaging experience that punches above the price paid. 4:51 – Monaco Crossbody (Cobalt) Full-grain, budget-friendly leather — but the craftsmanship tells a different story than the material does. 5:55 – Almost Perfect Devan Bucket Tote Their outlet line, a visible flaw, and the best leather in the mix so far. 7:06 – Verona Tote (Stone) Top-grain with a flat finish — where the temper of the leather actually works for the design. 7:45 – Empire Crossbody Tote The one that feels plasticky. Budget leather with nowhere to hide. 8:28 – Aspen Shoulder Bag (Suede) The only suede in the mix — and a smell that raises questions before the hand even does. 9:11 – Sloan Doctor Bag ("Grizzly") An acetone test on the tag reveals what's really under that embossed grain. 11:01 – Flora Shoulder Bag (Chocolate) The standout of all eight — and the closest match to the leather that built this brand. 11:47 – Firefly Bucket Bag (Sienna) The roughest craftsmanship in the box, saved only by a decent pebbled hide. 12:32 – What it actually costs to make Real material cost, real Mexico labor rate, and the multiplier Portland is charging. 14:18 – So did the quality drop? Eight bags, one clear pattern, and one thing I got wrong about where these are made. --- PRODUCTS FEATURED: Monaco: https://www.portlandleathergoods.com/products/monaco-crossbody?variant=42245227348050&_pos=1&_sid=2ba0508b3&_ss=r Devan: https://www.portlandleathergoods.com/products/almost-perfect-devan-bucket-tote?variant=41265973264466 Verona: https://www.portlandleathergoods.com/products/verona-tote?variant=42397110861906 Empire: https://www.portlandleathergoods.com/products/crossbody-tote?variant=42440531804242&_pos=2&_sid=7bcc4c4cd&_ss=r Aspen: https://www.portlandleathergoods.com/products/aspen-shoulder-bag?variant=42535012794450 Sloan: https://www.portlandleathergoods.com/products/sloan-doctor-bag?variant=42013040967762 Flora: https://www.portlandleathergoods.com/products/flora-shoulder-bag?variant=42185265446994&_pos=1&_sid=b9ca19998&_ss=r Firefly: https://www.portlandleathergoods.com/products/firefly-bucket-bag?variant=42218126475346&_pos=1&_sid=ed02b43df&_ss=r --- SHOP LINK FOR MY BRAND THE HOUSE OF LEATHER: https://www.tannerleatherstein.com/ STOW LONDON: https://stowlondon.co.uk/ --- SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS Follow me on my social media pages where I post content regularly. TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tanner.leatherstein Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanner.leatherstein/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tanner.leatherstein1 --- HOW TO CONTACT: You may contact me on any of my social media accounts above or send me an email at business@tannerleatherstein.com. ---

My faux leather chair sat locked in storage for 2 years. I used it for one day when I got back, and it started shedding like it's molting. 🪑💨 Now I'm side-eyeing the "SynTex" seats in my new Kia. Faux leather is PU or PVC. Kia won't say which. Contract furniture (hotels, hospitals) gets tested for this kind of breakdown. Home furniture doesn't. So... did 2 years of use break it down, or 2 years of storage? Tell me which one you think it was. 👇 stay leathertained #fauxleather #pleather #syntheticleather

You asked about this on last week's report. A closer look at the July 16 raids on eleven luxury brands' offices — Bulgari, Chanel, Moncler, and others — part of a labor exploitation probe into subcontractors that's been expanding since 2024. Is the distance between a brand and a seven-layer-deep subcontracting chain an honest accident of scale, or is it designed?

Tiering 11 luxury brands on one measure: leather and craftsmanship for the price. Hermès: S. Balenciaga: D. 9 more already tiered. Want the full list? Say so below. Stay leathertained.