After a brief hiatus, LEONARDOVALENTINI returns with a project that confirms the brand’s evolution toward an increasingly artistic and performative dimension.Thus “NEEDLEHANDS” is born — the poetry of a dark fairy tale that pays homage to the visionary imagery of Tim Burton, whose gothic aesthetic is an integral part of the designer’s cultural background.
NEEDLEHANDS PRE-S27
The event previews the presentation of the new Main Collection, scheduled for the 2027 season, and takes shape as an event performance in which leather — a material that has always been at the heart of the designer’s aesthetic research — is molded and brought to life through a series of small accessories, transformed into unique pieces through the live intervention of tattoo artist P4blo, who will engrave and personalize each creation, and not only that…
In addition to the customizable pieces presented, guests will also have the opportunity to commission their own leather garment from the artist and give it a new life, making it unique with tattoo-like engravings and thereby contributing to a tangible form of sustainability.
As in Burton’s film “Edward Scissorhands,” water and fire are the two central elements of the collection’s narrative, inspiring the creation of two limited-edition statement accessories: a lighter holder complete with a branded Clipper lighter, and an umbrella holder, both made of leather.
In the film, fire is a symbol of danger, destruction and anger, often associated with the fear of what is different. It appears in moments of tension and symbolizes the community’s impulsive reactions and hostility toward the protagonist.
Water, on the other hand, evokes life, purity, emotions and transformation. One of the most iconic scenes is the one in which Edward, with his sharp hands, manages to sculpt an ice statue while fragments of ice fall gently like snow, in a moment of extraordinary beauty and erotic pathos.
Leather belts, artificially distressed darkened eyelets, bronze, black and dark-brown tones, and pointed studs are just some of the elements featured in the collection, deeply internalized by the designer through the cinematic narrative of this masterpiece by Tim Burton.
A constant partner of the project is Lineapelle, where CEO Fulvia Bacchi renews her significant support for a research process that continues to celebrate leather as an expressive language for new independent creative realities.
The first presentation of the LEONARDOVALENTINI project will take place in Milan at Spazio Lineapelle on Thursday, September 24 at 3:30 p.m., followed by Turin on September 25 at 24 Tattoo Studio, and Rome on September 26 at Via Laurina 37 (Piazza del Popolo), at Dario D’Elia’s salon.
The Milan date will be accompanied by an after-party in collaboration with Hangoover, while in Turin — a city that in recent months has captured the designer’s imagination with its aesthetic and esoteric heritage — a special-edition T-shirt will be presented, created in collaboration with artist Tisana di Mangrovie. The graphic reinterprets the famous Winged Genius of Piazza Statuto, transforming it into an image that plays on the figure’s dual meaning: on one hand, a symbol of scientific and industrial progress; on the other, a powerful icon associated with the city’s mystical tradition.
During the events, and particularly in Rome, visitors will be able to witness the product-making process carried out by artisan Pierguido Sulpizi, founder of Sulpizi, a leather workshop in the Lazio region that has been a long-standing partner throughout the history of the LEONARDOVALENTINI project.
A poetic narrative in which the music, carefully composed and selected, will complete the Tour.
