SECOND LIFE

Although designers have many ways of repurposing, reusing and upcycling precious materials, any regeneration requires research, investment and commitment. So, who's up for it?

- SMITHA SADANANDAN

Maria Sole Ferragamo spent childhood summers helping at a footwear factory in Florence, a time she now M recalls as some of the most memorable weeks of her life. The factory in question belonged to her grandfather, Salvatore Ferragamo.

"I learnt to love and understand leather at the factory... working on the uppers, packing shoes," she remembers. "Our summer internships at the workshops were a rite of passage." The founder of Milan-based SO-LE Studio had made her first piece of jewellery using leather scraps found discarded on the factory floor.

"Working with what's available continually gives me a creative stimulus," explains Sole Ferragamo. "Every time I see a piece of leather, it speaks to me. I love the lightness and dynamism."

Since launching her brand in 2017, Sole continues to work with leather, making beautiful and wearable sculptures that utilise leather trims, castaways and shimmery discards. Her objective was to "look at leather from a different perspective".

Seeking to upcycle rather than recycle, she's never needed to source new materials for SO-LE; rather, her designs involve an intelligent approach and a little technical innovation. With her brand, Sole Ferragamo has coaxed luxury lovers to extend their love to small items of leather jewellery and some bigger statement pieces, all cut with exacting precision and sharp blades.

The "remnants from the accessories" at the family-run factory receive an otherworldly leather makeover as they're transformed into earrings, chokers, cuffs, rings and even bags from the latest drop in the Lucenova collection, which features brass, gold and silver metallic hues. For the Trucioli line of accessories and jewellery,

Sole gives second life to brass shavings swept up from hardware manufacturing. She works with artisans at Tuscan workshops, who bring to life glamorous pieces in leather, metal or enamel, melded harmoniously and entwined into her design ethos.