Leather vessels trend
Designer Talia Luvaton is showing organic, sculptural leather vessels at Milan — pieces that look more like breathing forms than traditional bags or bowls. Yanko Design calls the work notable for its full, tactile shapes and craft focus amid a Design Week mood that favors material expressiveness. (yankodesign.com, livingetc.com)
Talia Luvaton is bringing hand-shaped leather vessels to Milan this month, with forms that read more like sculpture than bags, bowls, or containers. (yankodesign.com) Luvaton’s new project, TRACE, is scheduled to debut at Milan Design Week 2026, which runs across the city from April 20 to April 26, with Salone del Mobile at Rho from April 21 to April 26. Her studio says the work will be shown at SaloneSatellite in Hall 5, Booth E-13. (yankodesign.com, salonemilano.it, luvatonstudio.com) The designer is based in Tel Aviv and works with vegetable-tanned leather, shaping it by hand with moisture, pressure, and custom molds. Yanko Design reported that the process makes exact duplication difficult because the leather changes with time and handling. (yankodesign.com, luvatonstudio.com) TRACE started with observational drawings of the human body, then moved into three-dimensional forms that keep the curve and tension of those lines. Luvaton’s studio describes the broader body of work as leather treated “as skin,” with memory, movement, and structural strength. (yankodesign.com, luvatonstudio.com) The timing fits a larger Milan Design Week program that is again centered on installations, launches, and collectible pieces spread across districts including Brera, Isola, Porta Venezia, 5Vie, and Tortona. Dezeen’s 2026 guide says the week’s events run alongside the fair and include exhibitions, open showrooms, talks, and brand activations across the city. (dezeen.com, dezeen.com) Milan’s official program says the city will host design events from April 20 to April 26 during the Salone Internazionale del Mobile. Salone del Mobile calls its fair the leading international event for the design industry and is selling tickets through April 17 at a reduced rate. (comune.milano.it, salonemilano.it) Luvaton is also showing earlier series in Milan, including TOHA, SLICE, REBLOOM, and HEALED. Yanko Design said HEALED was made with professional tattoo artists using electric needles directly on leather, extending the studio’s focus on body, surface, and craft. (yankodesign.com, luvatonstudio.com) Her studio ties that approach to family trade as well as material technique: both parents are jewelers, and Yanko Design reported that she still uses some tools from her shoemaker grandfather. In Milan, that lineage is being presented through objects that hold their shape like containers but register first as living forms. (yankodesign.com, luvatonstudio.com)
