Developed by the Leather & Hide Council of America and funded through the USDA via export market development programs, the Real Leather. Stay Different. (RLSD) campaign has grown from an ambitious initiative into one of the fashion industry's most far-reaching movements, championing leather's role in sustainable fashion while building and protecting the international market for US leather. And talking to 4.7 million young designers and consumers about leather, every month.
The centrepiece of that movement is the RLSD International Student Design Competition, now in its sixth year. With competitions running in Thailand, Taiwan, China, Vietnam and Africa, this year the competition has also launched in two significant design and material markets with a competition in Brazil and an in-market campaign to promote the competition in India.
Brazil and India are home to two of the world's most dynamic and rapidly growing fashion industries, with design talent that will thrive on international platforms that reward both creativity and sustainability. These competitions show that the campaign’s model, combining education, industry influence and the celebration of innovative design, can be successfully adapted to new markets and new communities of designers.
New markets reflect just the next step in the campaign to embed the story of US leather into fashion design on every continent. Since its 2021 launch, RLSD has engaged tens of thousands of students from hundreds of universities across 48 countries, producing a growing network of designers working at the forefront of the global style industry. Previous winners and entrants have secured positions with leading houses including Hugo Boss, Christian Louboutin, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Loewe, placing leather advocates at the heart of some of the world's most prestigious brands with one of the 2025 winners awarded a placement at Hugo Boss. [Here], just another example of how RLSD is bringing global brands on board.
To give a feel for its reach, Q1 2026 saw the campaign with 94,118 followers and subscribers across its digital platforms, reaching an average of 4.73 million people on social media each month with the latest Instagram reel [Here] now on 150,00 views.
As more designers from more countries engage with the story of US leather at the very start of their careers, RLSD is securing leather's place as the premium, sustainable material of choice. Not just for this generation of designers, but for the generations that will follow.
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