Today we are going to discover something that I believe is purely Icelandic. Being honest, I am not a fashion guru and never been one. In this case, I do believe it is something worth mentioning as clever ideas that help improving our world are always welcome! Stay here to learn about Fish Leather from Iceland.
Leather is nothing but animal skin treated to preserve it. It has been used by the human being to make clothes, shoes, bags and many other accessories. At the beginning it was pretty much a necessity, we did not have Zara and other huge companies to dress us up. You needed to find a way to stay warm and covered. Then, the way we covered our bodies became a trendy thing. We then switched form a basic necessity to what we can somehow consider a consumption or capitalist tendency.
Some of the most critically acclaimed designers started to use leather or fur for their designs. The demand of such items increased exponentially as everyone wanted to wear such cool clothes. And that meant that some animals started to die just because of fashion. The industry needed their skin for their collections and apparel. But, does it always have to be that way?
It seems that this question was a key one for Sigríður Káradóttir CEO of Atlantic Leather a company of Fish Leather from Iceland. This company is located at Skagafjörður a fishing town in North Iceland. You may be wondering what is so different about it, well it is a revolutionary idea.
As stated before, not only Skagafjörður but Iceland itself has a huge fishing tradition. Even the settlers were sea fearers and knew exactly how to get their sustenance out of the sea. So the company decided to mix this old ancient tradition with the creativeness of modern Icelanders.
Designers, who lived surrounded by the fish markets of their town, noticed that when the fishmongers cleaned the fish, their skin was wasted. So why not used the thrown out material to make leather out of it? This idea actually worked out. Its success is huge, that even brands like Dior, Jimmy Choo or Prada has used the Fish Leather from Iceland for their creations.
Atlantic Leather uses several types of fishes, from salmon to cod. And as their skin is different, so is the final result. There is not one piece that looks like the other. So a sense of uniqueness and originality is added to the product. And the best part of it all is that no fish was intentionally killed for this purpose. The skin comes from pieces fished for the food industry that would otherwise be thrown away.
Eco Fashion: Fish Leather from Iceland
As you can see, this great idea brings some sustainability to the environment and is good for the employment in fishing villages in Iceland. We cannot forget about the design creators who can now have a new way of mixing and sharing their Icelandic culture with the world. Are you a fashionista? Well, now you know about Fish leather from Iceland!