Iconic Craftsman Bill Amberg Partners with Moore & Giles for New Printed Leather Collection
Bill Amberg is no ordinary craftsman. For over 30 years, the British designer has led his eponymous bespoke leather studio, exploring the material’s seemingly endless possibilities, from furniture and décor, to saddlery and bookbinding. For Amberg’s latest venture, his studio teamed up with leading luxury leather developer Moore & Giles to add a 21st century influence on traditional trade practices.
Amberg has spent the past several years perfecting the art of digital printing on leather, employing specialized technology that ensures the natural character and grain of leather remain intact. Amberg’s collection for Moore & Giles features six artfully detailed designs digitally printed on fine Spanish leather, with patterns inspired by shapes and silhouettes found in nature and traditional textiles.
“[This collection] further builds upon our ‘industry first’ range of printed leather hides,” Amberg explains, “using our highly innovative production process, it marries both the inherently luxurious, tactile and versatile qualities of leather with a series of covetable new designs.” The vibrant tropical fauna in Botanique, for example, is a maximalist pattern with the ability to enliven residential furnishings, like ottomans and headboards, and add pops of color to any room.
The method of digital printing Moore & Giles uses works much like a tattoo, with the pattern not merely being reproduced onto the surface, but into the high-quality raw material itself. Serendipity, one of the geometric and tessellating designs, subverts expectations of the surface with a luminous optical illusion. More so, only a damp cloth is required to clean the material, making it a fresh yet dependable option for large-scale background pieces. Bill Amberg recently released his Designer Collection with Moore & Giles, which consist of designs created in collaboration with the likes of Marcel Wanders and Champalimaud, to name a few.
