Designers celebrate town trade

Some of the world's top leather handbag designers will swap the runways of Milan and Paris for Walsall to celebrate the borough's famous trade.

Top names will feature in a glittering exhibition at the town's leather museum of some of the best pieces in the industry - with many made from Walsall-produced leather. Designers featured, who have also used leather made in Walsall, have previously sold bags to the likes of Stella McCartney, David Bowie, Britt Ekland and Michael Caine.

Assistant curator David Mills said they hoped to buy several pieces of the collection for permanent exhibition at the gallery.

He said: "These are spectacular bags and there are quite a number of pieces. The quality of the stitching is fantastic. It is really important that the companies that remain in the town are aware of all these new techniques and the standards in this exhibition.

"The exhibition is a reminder of Walsall's rich leather history."Australian-born Steve Harkin, who now lives in the UK, is one of the most popular designers in the world.

His work has been showcased in the premier fashions shows in the world and some celebs even buy them just to put on a bookshelf or mantelpiece.

For nearly 200 years Walsall has been a major centre of the leather industry, exporting saddles, bridles and a variety of horse equipment to most corners of the world.

Firms often exported their goods as far abroad as South America, which had become a major market for Walsall in the nineteenth century.

Albion Saddlemakers, in Bridgeman Street, made worldwide headlines last year when it was given the lucrative multi-million pound contract to equip the stunning Lippizzaner horses with saddles, bridles, reins and stirrups.

Albion directors spent 12 months in top-secret discussion to come up with industry-leading products.

The handbag exhibition starts on Saturday.

By Lee Perry