This week, the vibrant Jennifer Chang Carmichael introduced me to Cabretta Couture, her range of bespoke leather gloves. While competing in world class equestrian events, Jennifer looked for gloves that were well made and long-lasting that also enabled her connect closely with her horse. She came across a company based in the UK who made the finest gloves she had ever worn, using traditional machines and leather cutting knives that dated back to the Victorian era.
Her love of these gloves led her to develop a range of fashion gloves made out of fine Cabretta leather, sourced from Ethiopian hair sheep, whose leather has a fine grain and smoothness of touch. These leathers are finished in a myriad of color by Pittards, a manufacturer that has the highest standards of processing.
The Cabretta Couture range encompasses gloves for traditional purposes: riding, shooting and driving as well as a fashion range. All the gloves can be customized for fit and material. These gloves are exquisitely detailed and finished. Zippers, contrast piping and cut outs are some of the design touches that that make Cabretta Couture gloves so special. You can even see the tiny stitches of construction.
I particularly like the 3/4 length gloves- very Mad Men- which of course I can have made customized to suit my short arms and small hands. In a world full of mass luxury, it is nice to find a product that adheres to traditional standards of craftsmanship and also has an air of restrained exclusivity.
You can find ready-to-wear Cabretta Couture gloves (if you just can’t wait for custom) at Nude is Rude, LoveIt, The Conrad Gift Fairs and of course online.
LoveIt Boutique, 1/F, Shama Place, 30 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong, 2545 2162
Nude is Rude Boutique, G/F, No. 1 Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong
Conrad Hotel Christmas Gift Fairs – 21 November & 6 December 2011 (Conrad Hotel, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong)