Leather's journey through time, from Pompeii's ancient tannery to tomorrow's sustainable future

Visitors walk in Pompeii, Italy, the city that was buried beneath layers of volcanic ash and rock in 79 A.D. by the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, seen in the background. Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol

By Park Han-sol

• Published Sep 25, 2024 1:00 AM KST
• Updated Sep 25, 2024 4:18 PM KST

POMPEII/MILAN, Italy — The story of Pompeii is familiar even to those who have never set foot on its grounds — an ancient Roman city, forever suspended in time beneath tons of volcanic ash and rock following the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

But before it became the ash-embalmed ruins we know now, Pompeii was a bustling commercial hub. Along with its thriving port, every alley was lined with bakeries, laundries, brothels, taverns, public baths, theaters and shops. Today, the city remains the only archaeological site in the world that provides a vivid and nearly complete snapshot of daily life in a Roman city from two millennia ago.

“For instance, there are more than 10,000 graffiti inscriptions (left intact) that show what real life was like for its inhabitants,” explained Felicia D’Amora, a tour guide and art historian born and raised in Pompeii. She highlighted that the city, therefore, wasn’t a “graveyard” but rather a “living town frozen in time.”

And since its rediscovery in the 18th century, excavations and restoration efforts in Pompeii have continued to this day. Over the past 10 months alone, a string of new archaeological finds has come to light, including a “bakery-prison,” where enslaved workers and donkeys toiled to mill flour for bread, a remarkable banquet hall adorned with frescoes of Trojan War figures and a rare blue-walled room believed to have served as a shrine.

One structure that underwent extensive restoration in recent years is the tannery complex of Regio I, the largest artisan workshop for leatherworking found in the ancient city.

First established in the mid-1st century on the site of a former residence, the tannery suffered damage during a major earthquake in 62 A.D. before being permanently entombed in volcanic debris a decade later. It wasn’t until the late 19th century that its tools and production facilities were unearthed, revealing striking similarities to those used in medieval and modern tanneries.

As a result of a years-long collaboration between the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and UNIC — Concerie Italiane (the Italian Tanners’ Association), the tannery has now opened its doors to the public.

Visitors can explore ancient leather-processing methods, highlighted by the site’s 15 cylindrical vats used for hide maceration, a porticoed area for rinsing and beating leather and a designated dumping ground for waste. There is even an outdoor summer banquet hall with a table featuring a skull-patterned mosaic, where the workshop’s owner once entertained his guests.

The history of Italian leather and its artisanal roots, therefore, can be traced back to the Roman Empire, where the material was used for everything from clothing and armor to transportation.

Its socio-economic significance grew steadily throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, bolstered by the formation of the Arte dei Cuoiai e Galigai (Leather Workers Guild) in Florence, which helped standardize and elevate the craft.

By the early 20th century, iconic luxury fashion houses such as Prada, Ferragamo and Gucci all began their journey with Italian leather craftsmanship, further cementing the country’s legacy in the industry.

Leather’s sustainability agenda for future

Since 1981, Lineapelle, the biannual international trade fair, has been hosted in Milan as a global hub for leather industry professionals and producers of relevant accessories and components. The latest 104th edition, held from Sept. 17 to 19, brought together 1,259 exhibitors from 43 countries at the Fiera Milano exhibition center.

As a key platform for surveying current market trends, the fair placed a strong emphasis on the increasing shift toward a more sustainable future for leather production, focusing on reducing the material’s environmental footprint and seeking strategies for decarbonization.

During a Science-Based Fashion Talk session, Logan Duran, vice president of ESG Strategy at Tapestry, the parent company of brands like Coach and Kate Spade, noted how the pathways for impact reduction lie in both material innovation — advances in traditional leather, recycled leather and next-gen alternatives like lab-grown or bio-based leather — as well as process innovation.

He introduced Coachtopia, a new sub-brand from Coach dedicated to circularity, where leather goods and ready-to-wear are designed to be repaired, remade and recycled for multiple lifecycles. Notably, the leather in Coachtopia products is made with at least 50 percent recycled scraps.

Fulvia Bacchi, CEO of Lineapelle and general director of UNIC, stressed how Italian tanneries have been championing the charge toward sustainability long before it became a buzzword in the fashion world.

“You have to keep in mind that we recuperate a sub-product of the meat industry: raw hides. As long as people continue to eat meat, we will always have this product,” she told The Korea Times. “We have also been working to turn a majority of the waste from our production processes into raw materials for other industries — biostimulants for agriculture, collagen for cosmetics, construction and so on. It’s a fundamental example of the circular economy.”

Bacchi added that the Italian tanning sector actively tracks information about its supply chain to ensure compliance with key ethical standards, including animal welfare, ecosystem protection and the prevention of illegal deforestation. This commitment aligns with the certification requirements set by the Institute of Quality Certification for the Leather Sector.

“Another important aspect is that in Italy, tanneries are concentrated in clusters,” she noted. These specialized “districts” — made up of raw hide traders, tanneries, chemical companies, machinery manufacturers and suppliers of wastewater treatment services — enable a more controlled, transparent process for producing leather and recycling its waste from start to finish.

In addition to making sustainability a core focus, the CEO emphasized the importance of educating and collaborating with the next generation of designers. This year’s fair showcased projects from major international fashion institutes, including IUAV University of Venice, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and London College of Fashion.

Since 2019, Lineapelle has also hosted special training seminars for students at Hongik University in Korea.

“For us, it’s very important to collaborate with universities, including those in Korea, because we believe in the (potential of) young people,” she said, adding that such opportunities allow aspiring designers to work with high-quality leather — materials that are often out of reach due to cost and the complexity of the craft.

“We want to support them, give them leather to create their collections so that they can showcase their designs and bring them to market.”