It’s a question we hear all the time! As more and more bags made from ‘Saffiano’ are appearing in our designer label stores, we felt it important to do some digging and find out exactly what Saffiano Leather is and are we really getting what we pay for?

About Saffiano

Saffiano leather was first made in one of Italy’s most famous tanneries and was a signature and patent of established design house Prada. Saffiano leather was originally made from the highest quality calf leather. The name Saffiano comes from the cross hatch print that was pressed into the wax that coated the leather. It is supposed to be water-resistant, if not waterproof and on a vegetable tanned base.

Today this iconic print is used on a wide range of leathers and PU coated splits. There, there are many factories using the cross-hatch pattern and calling the end product Saffiano. In the same way that Russian, Moroccan and Cordovan leather once had clear geographical and technical definitions, Saffiano leather is now made in many countries and in different ways.

So although what we see is the same Saffiano print across all the current designer brands, what is actually underneath the surface could be no better than your cheap split leather with a surface coating simply printed with the cross hatch design ‘Saffiano Leather’.