My current work is the continuation of a process started 20 years ago, which involves adding poetry to, and sublimating, everyday items through craftsmanship, all while freeing myself from the time constraints of the fashion and accessories sector. For me, true luxury lies in bringing the notion of beauty into durable and comforting items.

Natalia Brilli

The context

This Brussels-based designer, who is famous for her leather-bound items, long ago freed herself from the rhythms dictated by the fashion sector, in order to focus on a multidisciplinary creative process that encompasses her own work, as well as her collaborations with craftsmen with real expertise.

A beautiful Belgian story

For M&O, I will be offering several collections of items, which directly and indirectly evoke my work with leather: leather-bound raffia baskets and masks that I have had made by a family of producers in Madagascar who, outside harvest season, weave the raffia in an artisanal way, but also ceramic dishes in different sizes, decorated with a leather-bound rope.

I will also present a small collection of furniture (always small-scale productions) in Paris, including a ceramic and cherry-wood bench made in collaboration with craftsmen in Belgium.

A benevolent design

All the leather I use today comes from dormant stocks from major fashion houses. This approach, which obviously helps to reduce the consumption of leather intended for the luxury sector by around 50%, goes hand in hand with a desire to lean into the ever-increasing customisation of items. In my work, a shade of beige will never be the same twice, since I am depending on the pieces of leather that I find.