Material Explained
Vegetable vs. Chrome: The Tanning Question
July 29, 2026 · 1 min read · ORBIS Editorial
Vegetable tanning ages; chrome tanning endures. One develops a biography, the other keeps its passport photo forever.
“The leather houses below will tell you which drum your bag came from.”
Article references
From the Atlas
- A.Testoni Bologna / Online
Bologna shoemaker since 1929 — Amedeo Testoni's Bolognese construction method defines lightweight Italian footwear craftsmanship. store page → · open in the atlas → - Alviero Martini 1a Classe Milan / Online
Italian leather goods brand launched in 1991 by designer Alviero Martini, built around his geo map print inspired by an antique map he found in a Moscow bookshop in the mid-1980s; flagship stores in Milan and Rome. store page → · open in the atlas → - Aquazzura Florence / Online
Edgardo Osorio's Florence-based party shoemaker — pineapple-heel glamour from Palazzo Corsini. store page → · open in the atlas → - Benheart Via Della Vigna Nuova, Florence / Online
Young Florentine leather label — handmade jackets and sneakers with a heart-transplant founding story. store page → · open in the atlas → - Bontoni Montegranaro / Marche / Online
Montegranaro shoemaker founded in 2004 by third-generation cobbler Franco Gazzani and his cousin Lewis Cutillo; nine artisans hand-stitch roughly 3,800 pairs a year using an awl and waxed thread. store page → · open in the atlas →