A Letter from Leo
Dear Friends,
I have been thinking about warmth.
Not the warmth of summer, but the kind that lingers in wood and painted walls, in the quiet of a cabin when the air outside is damp and heavy. CABAÑA was born from a week spent secluded in San José del Pacífico, Mexico, surrounded by mist, earth, and colours I had never fully understood until I lived within them.
Leo Prothmann
There, I began to notice how buildings carried pigment like memory: mud, mustard, oxblood, teal, forest green, tones shaped slowly by weather and time. I walked for hours through shifting terrain and returned each evening thinking about structure and collapse, about garments that could hold themselves with clarity and then soften, as bodies do.
This season feels close to my own wardrobe, instinctive and personal. Oversized, structured silhouettes fall into a deliberate slouch, while vibrant tones settle into unexpected placements. Comfort and resistance sit side by side.
The shell forms that have long defined my practice return in a new expression, becoming quilted leather parkas, modular and protective, and morning capes imagined for rituals at first light. Constructed from offcut leather strips and reinforced internally with boning, these pieces maintain their architecture before yielding gently to movement. I refer to them as cages, as each line is placed equidistantly and applied by hand, every strip requiring patience and precision. They are among the most technically demanding garments we have made, yet they are worn with ease. Curved shoulders remain central to the silhouette, engineered to hold shape before falling softly at the cuff, allowing structure and fluidity to exist together.
Leather remains my language, bending and resisting while remembering the hand that shapes it. For CABAÑA, we worked closely with Nene Valley Leather, specialists in upholstery hides designed to endure daily life. Using fully by-product leather, firm yet supple, we focused on longevity. I often think about furniture, about pieces made to live quietly in a space for decades, and I hope these garments carry that same sense of permanence.
The damp terrain of San José del Pacífico sharpened my awareness of protection, which naturally extended into a collaboration with Dr. Martens. Together we reworked the Jadon boot into a cargo-pocketed hiking silhouette, waterproof and breathable, grounded in endurance while retaining its cultural memory.
As the collection evolved, Edda Gudmundsdottir shaped the styling with instinct, guiding colour and proportion so that contrast feels lived rather than imposed. The garments closest to the skin became equally important. With Carmela Dias at London College of Fashion, we developed contour pieces and thermals that support the structure above them, reinforcing our ongoing exploration of foundations.
Our work with Inversa Leathers brings Silverfin fish leather into the collection, sourced from invasive species removed from fragile ecosystems. Through craft, environmental imbalance is redirected into material with intention and consequence.
With Cubitts, we designed a limited-edition pair of sunglasses in resin, finished with our metalwork, extending the collection’s curved language into a significant everyday object. Ollivion’s jewellery, sculptural and slightly irregular, is rooted in ancient artefacts and quiet mythology that feel aligned with this world.
Today’s show marks our first inclusion on the official London Fashion Week schedule, an important moment for the studio and a reaffirmation of our founding intention: to create sculptural leather garments designed to endure, shaped by instinct, community, and place.
Here, on the Mandrake’s terrace, suspended between city and shelter, I offer you CABAÑA.
With love,
Leo Prothmann
@leoprothmann
CREATIVE DIRECTION: LEO PROTHMANN @LEOPROTHMANN
STYLIST: EDDA GUDMUNDSDOTTIR @EDDAGUD
PHOTOGRAPHER: REBECCA MAYNES @REBECCAMAYNES
VENUE: THE MANDRAKE HOTEL @THEMANDRAKEHOTEL
FOOTWEAR: LP X DR. MARTENS RECONSTRUCTION @DR.MARTENS
EYEWEAR: LP X CUBITTS @CUBITTS
HAIR: EFI DAVIES @EFIDAVIES SUPPORT BY @TONIANDGUYWORLDWIDE + TEAM
MAKEUP: MICHELLE WEBB @MICHELLEWEBBMAKEUP SUPPORTED BY @AOFM + TEAM
PRESS: REP AGENCY @REPNYC
PR ASSISTANT: FRANKIE BAUMER @GENDERFUCKALIEN & AMILIE PHAN @AMILIE_PHAN
CASTING: HARPER PFION @CELESTECASTING
SHOW PRODUCTION: HAYDER AHMED @HEYHAYDER ASSISTANT: EVITA VITOLINA @VIITOLINA_
MUSIC: HOLDEN FEDERICO @90STECHNOREDUX
LEATHER SUPPORT: NENE VALLEYLEATHER @NENEVALLEYLEATHER
FISH LEATHER ARE SUPPLIED BY @INVERSA LEATHERS
DEADSTOCK FABRIC SUPPORT BY @LASTYARN
JEWELLERY BY OLLIVION @OLLIVION
SCENT: THE PERFUMER STORY BY AZZI GLAZER @THEPERFUMERSTORY
BEVERAGE SUPPORTED BY CANS @CANS.CO.UK
LEO PROTHMANN TEAM: CHARLES ADAMS @CHARLESQUAINADAMS, CARMELA DIAS @WHATTSHENEEDS, ETHAN PAVEY @ETHANHAMPTONPAVEY, LUCIA GUEDAN @LUCIAGUEDAN, ATTICUS STRANGLEOVE @ATTICUSSTRANGELOVE, MICHAEL BACHMANN @MICHAELJBACHMANN, FRANK PUH @FRANK_.PUGH, MAX LAU @XAM42UAL , ANDREW JACK @ANDREW_JACK4
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE WHOLE LP TEAM, RAMI PISTACHE, SENTA HAUSSLER, MAGULEONE MARCENAC, MANDI LENNARD, RICK OWENS, STEFANIE, MARTIN, MAX AND FRANZ PROTHMANN, FOR YOUR CONTINUED LOVE AND SUPPORT.
#LP #LEOPROTHMANN #LFW #LONDONFASHIONWEEK #INDUSTRIALLEATHERWORK
