Serge Amoruso

From wood to leather

• Serge grew up in a family of cabinetmakers
• He works with incredible leathers
• He trained at Ecole Grégoire-Ferrandi in Paris

Serge Amoruso comes from a creative lineage. His father was a wood sculptor, and so he grew up surrounded by an array of materials, tools and beautiful artistic gestures that continue to inspire him to this day. However, it was not wood that caught his attention in the end, it was leather. His brother worked at a book publisher’s and was surrounded by scraps of leather used to bind books – these scraps took on a new meaning to Serge and inspired him to train as a leather worker. In 1970, directly after his studies and at 18 years of age, he was hired by Hermès to work in their trunk department. He worked there for seven years, before becoming a technical instructor teaching leather work to disadvantaged youth. At the age of 35 he opened his own workshop, and developed a following in France and Japan.

Interview

©Eric Chenal

©Eric Chenal

Why did you leave your job at Hermès?

It was not my nature merely to implement and execute. By then, I was already drawing a lot, I played a lot of music, I practised and taught aikido which led me to travel to Japan aged 20. In a way, I had three passions and career paths opening up in front of me.

How did you decide to set up your own studio?

It took a lot of time, I did not know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew precisely what I did not want. I did not want to be a subcontractor, or to do banal things, nor did I want to do what everyone else does.

What was a defining moment in your career?

When I was eight years old, with one of my brothers in Rome who took me to a dark church near the Colosseum, I realised I was at the foot of Michelangelo's monumental statue of Moses. It changed my life, I thought, “If a man can do something like that, what will I be able to do with my life?”

Do you have any special memories?

I saw interview with a famous Japanese actress. She was asked if she had any regrets, she replied: “Yes, 25 years ago I was in Paris at a leather worker’s boutique and regret not having purchased a piece.” A few years later, I presented her with the bag she always wanted.

Serge Amoruso is an he began his career in

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