About Our Leathers: How We Make Our Best-Selling Handbags

At Latico, we always put our leathers first. Our thick-sueded, buttery-soft cowhide is truly what makes our bags stand out from the crowd, whether you opt for a classic bag from our Atelier collection, an eye-catching metallic bag, an open-weave beach bag, or a trendy python bag. We treat our hides with the utmost care and respect, and we'd like to think it shows.

We decided to peel back the curtain on our unique leather-working processes to show you exactly how we achieve the fluid, supple leather that you know and love. Ahead, find details on four of our best-selling collections.

Our Atelier Collection is comprised of the Latico classics — think our Harbor crossbody, our Bianca tote, our Gabriel bag, and more. Using century-old techniques, we tan, craft, and polish our super-soft, natural cowhide to create a beautiful leather that acquires a ripe patina with age. We wash the leather until it's tumbled to perfection — the finished product is soft and fluid, not stiff. Next, we apply a unique blend of oils and natural vegetable dyes to the moist hides so they absorb even more moisture. At the end, we're left with an incredibly soft, supple leather that's a beautiful, understated color, from classic black and cognac to eggplant, denim, rosa, olive, and more.

Our Python leather handbags undergo a unique, laser-cutting process that mimics the scaled look of reptile skin. In addition to twice-washing and tumble-drying the hides to buttery-soft perfection, we use an Italian foil to laser-cut a raised scaling pattern into the hide. This creates an exotic, texture-rich lift that you can feel to the touch. Our Python bags are much more affordable than real snakeskin, but look remarkably similar!

Our metallic Stanton collection still boasts the same buttery-soft, twice-washed, vegetable-dyed leather as our Atelier line, with an eye-catching twist. We wash our thick-sueded cowhide leather once before ironing on an Italian foil with a metallic, camouflage pattern. Then we wash it again to create that beautiful, shiny distressed finish in various hues, including classic silver and black.

You typically don't associate leather with beach bags, but we've managed to create a summer-friendly bag that's just as durable as it is stylish. Our beach bags are woven by hand by artisans in South America and India, then washed and tumbled to buttery-soft perfection. We finish each bag off with thick Italian cotton canvas for added protection against the elements.