# data[].attributes.body
There has been anthropological evidence of leather-working dating back to 400,000 years ago, in the Stone Ages.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
ABRI PEYR - A BONE TOOL FOUND IN A CAVE IN SOUTHWESTERN FRANCE SUGGESTS THAT NEANDERTHALS HAD SOPHISTICATED WAYS OF WORKING LEATHER. 

# data[].attributes.body
First leather working tools created and used about 80,000 years ago in South Africa

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2013.13542

# data[].attributes.body
In 8,000 BC it became vital to start making leather last longer.

Preservation began with salt, then clay degreasing, chewing the skin (the acid of saliva acted as a tannin)

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC - OLDEST SHOE FOUND IN ARMENIA DATED AROUND 3,500 BC

# data[].attributes.body
The oldest shoe ever to be found. It was located in the Armenia region and is estimated to be from about 3,500 BC.

# data[].attributes.body
In 2200 BC the Hittites were first to our knowledge to tan leather with water dissolved with alum.

# data[].attributes.headline
First Leather Sheets Made - Leather Comes To France

# data[].attributes.subject
First Leather Sheets Made - Leather Comes To France

# data[].attributes.body
By 1000 BC the Carthaginians begin tanning and set up a production centre near Marseille in the Rhone Delta - Believed to be the beginning of leather sheets.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
ROBERT VON SPALART - HISTORICAL PICTURE OF THE PRINCIPAL PEOPLE OF ANTIQUITY AND OF THE MIDDLE AGES - 1798

# data[].attributes.headline
Italian Leather Begins- First Army In Leather

# data[].attributes.subject
Italian Leather Begins- First Army In Leather

# data[].attributes.body
As the Hittites moved towards Italy they brought with them the knowledge and skills of leather tanning.

Romans and Greeks began industrializing leather production and outfitted their soldiers in leather.

# data[].attributes.body
In 542 AC leather production starts waning in France and Paris with the plagues and residents not liking the smells that came from tanneries.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
MOORISH KING ABUBAKARI II - THE VOYAGER KING

# data[].attributes.body
In 800 AC Moorish Empire had a thriving leather production industry in Spain.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
CHARLES V TRUNK - BAGAGE COLLECTION - MID 1300S

# data[].attributes.body
Originating between 1338 - 1380

This is the first knowledge of the practice of trunk making. This started under King Charles V. Although, the trunks were not made with leather on the outside they had a leather lining that protected the goods stored inside.

https://www.bagagecollection.com/en/the-trunks-history/trunkmaker-origin.html

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
BENTLEY'S LONDON - GOYARD LEATHER TRUNK 1910

# data[].attributes.body
In 1479 the 7 trunk makers in France formed a group in order to establish themselves and their trade. This solidified leather making as a job in society.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
BAGAGE COLLECTION - CARRIAGE TRUNK FROM MID 15OOS

# data[].attributes.body
In the early to mid 1500s the invention of carriages encouraged the upperclass to use trunks.

Trunks were even being designed specifically for carriages.

# data[].attributes.body
In the late 1700s the beginning of high-end designer trunk retail sets the trajectory of many well-known designers.

Although, many of these designers use a base of a coated canvas with just leather trimmings and accessories. These designers include Goyard, Moynat, Louis Vuitton, and Thierry Hermèsa (official trunk maker for Empress Eugenie), etc. The first storefronts for these brands are all very close to each other surrounding Place Vendôme in the 1st arrondissement in Paris. Most of the companies still have operational stores in those first locations.

# data[].attributes.body
In the 16th - 17th centuries leather production was booming in France.

There were approximately 5,000 tanneries, almost every town had a tannery!
The industry was employing almost 40,000 people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
1860 LEATHER TANNERIES ON RIVER BIÈVRE PARIS - 13TH AND 5TH ARRONDISMENTS - CHARLES MARVILLE

# data[].attributes.body
In 1835 wallet was invented.

Shortly after the term "maroquinerie" = leather crafting is birthed. This term solidified leather making into the French culture and economy.

# data[].attributes.body
In the late 19th century plastic is invented by Alexander Parkes and makes a dent in leather industry due to its extreme durability.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
PARIS 3E.- MAGASIN AU 7 RUE CHARLOT - TANNERIE OU PEAUSSERIE - 1896

# data[].attributes.body
The leather industry just kept growing in the 20th century, even so much that it became the 3rd largest industry in France.

# data[].attributes.body
March 2021 Hermès and MycoWorks announce that they will be collaborating on products.

Giving plant leather a real opportunity to become a popular leather alternative. Hermès is showing that they too align with the concept that sustainable vegan leather is the future.

https://www.mycoworks.com/introducing-sylvania-by-hermes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Matt Scullin, MycoWorks CEO, says:

"We could not imagine a better partner than Hermès to present our first object made of Fine Mycelium. Hermès and MycoWorks share common values of craftsmanship, quality, innovation, and patience.

A collaboration three years in the making, Sylvania is the result of a shared vision for growing the future of materials and a quest to unlock new design possibilities. I was introduced to MycoWorks in 2017, which coincided with Hermès' first experience with Fine Mycelium. At the time, MycoWorks was based in a small artist's studio. Together, we saw the potential of this incredible material.

The power of storytelling is key in any new technology or art. Hermès related to our story: that Fine Mycelium was rooted in artistic practice and craftsmanship. At the same time, Hermès recognized that MycoWorks' unique biotechnology approach to enhancing a natural material meant that Fine Mycelium had the potential to be the highest quality mycelium in the world.

Sylvania represents how nature and biotechnology can work in concert to create a material with the highest standards of quality."

Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Hermès Artistic Director, says:

"MycoWorks' vision and values echo those of Hermès: a strong fascination with natural raw material and its transformation, a quest for excellence, with the aim of ensuring that objects are put to their best use and that their longevity is maximized. With Sylvania, Hermès is at the heart of what it has always been: innovation in the making."

Fine Mycelium, the genesis of Sylvania, is produced in the MycoWorks facility. It is then tanned and finished in France by the Hermès tanners to further refine its strength and durability, and shaped in the workshops by the Hermès craftspeople.

This collaboration pairs expertise in tanning the highest quality materials with the tools of biotechnology.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
An Exclusive Collaboration by Hermès and MycoWorks - MycoWorks

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Matt Scullin, MycoWorks CEO, says: "We could not imagine a better partner than Hermès to present our first object made of Fine Mycelium. Hermès and MycoWorks share common values of craftsmanship, quality, innovation, and patience. A collaboration three years in the making, Sylvania is the result of a shared vision for growing the future of materials and a quest to unlock new design possibilities.

# data[].attributes.body
Looking at today, plant leather is just getting started and there are a few brands in Paris that create using this alternative. One of them is this brand Ashoka, they primarily use apple skins.

https://www.ashokaparis.com/collections/apple-skin-pomme?logged_in_customer_id=&lang=en

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Apple skin, a biosourcée material, eco and 100% vegan. The apple skin is produced from Apple waste, grown for the food industry, in the region of Bolzano in northern Italy. The recovered skin, dried and then reduced to powder, is sent to a factory located in Florence, where it