During the last edition of Milan Fashion Week, 1972 Desa, an international high-quality leather apparel brand, was the protagonist of a catwalk show at the Leather Fashion Hub of Lineapelle,
This women’s and menswear leather apparel brand was founded in 2014 and sold by 120 prestigious boutiques including Antonia, and Biffi in Milan, Penelope in Brescia, Hangar 9 in Toronto, Betsy in New York, Harvey Nichols in Hong Kong, Deuxieme Class in Tokyo and 1423 Naive Water in Seoul.
The exclusive catwalk show offered the selected audience of insiders the occasion to learn more about Desa, its mother company’s vast expertise, cutting-edge production techniques, and care for the environment.
Desa is a Turkish leather specialist owned and founded in 1972 by the Çelet family. This company has been listed on the stock market exchange since 2003 and operates through its Istanbul headquarters and offices in London, Milan, Düsseldorf, and Sofia. Its current president is the founder of the company, Melih Çelet, while his son, Burak Çelet, is CEO.
Its f/w 2026/2027 collection in particular disclosed high-research, top-quality materials like nappa plongé, a soft and slightly glossy leather with a glove-like touch; a vegetal nappa, dyed with natural materials, which change their aspect reacting to light and wear; and a bio leather by Gozen, a 100% biodegradable material created through microbial fermentation without using synthetic components.
The company is especially keen about using sustainable tanning processes and innovative leather techniques and is part of the Leather Working Group (LWG), an independent international consortium that unites the main companies in the sector and other players who are committed to monitoring and controlling the best environmental practices of the tanning industry.
Every year LWG certifies its members’ level of environmental impact and has granted Desa with the Golden Standard, a recognition that pertains to every step of the production of the garment—from the raw material to the garment’s construction.
Similarly, Desa is very keen on transparency, as it verifies every single process in the value chain inside and outside its production sites—from material sourcing to tanning along with finishing and tailoring—through a sophisticated tracking system.
Along with it, it controls the entire value chain, from the sourcing of raw materials that are derived from the food industry, currently 95% of which are coming from the UK and Norway.
Their use of a proprietary barcode system allows the company to trace not only the individual farm but also certifies how each animal was raised and treated throughout its life.
Since 2022, Desa has also focused on converting to green energy with the use of a photovoltaic system and producing at least 50% of the required energy for its industrial plants.
In spring 2023, Desa also opened its Italian headquarters in the heart of the Tuscan countryside, near Arezzo–Desa Internazionale S.R.L. This new 2,000-sq.-meter production facility occupies over three levels, hosting a specialized and dedicated hub for the production of bags and leather goods for its partners and international luxury brands.