Okay, so I’ve been eyeing this Prada Galleria Saffiano Leather Bag from their official store for a while now. It’s just so classy, you know? But, man, that price tag! So, I thought, “Why not try to remake it myself?”
First things first, I headed to the official Prada website and started to search and find images. It’s a small bag, made of this Saffiano leather, which I learned is basically real leather that’s been treated and stamped with this textured. It’s a small version but it’s not too small to put things in, it looked kinda tough and structured.
Then I got to work figuring out the materials. I found some full-grain leather scraps that I thought would do the trick. I learned that it could be either chrome-tanned or vegetable-tanned, but for this, I figure the chrome-tanned would work better to get that stiffness. I made sure to get a piece that was the right thickness – not too thick, not too thin, just like the real deal.
The next challenge was replicating that Saffiano texture. I tried a few methods, I watched some videos, eventually, I found a way to emboss the leather to get a similar crosshatch pattern, and I finished it with a wax to get that signature finish. It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty darn close!
I noticed that the real Prada bag has these super neat stitches, all angled upward and the same color as the leather. I carefully planned out my stitch lines, making sure they were straight and parallel to the seams. I practiced a bit on some scrap leather until I could get those small, tight, uniform stitches down. It was tedious, but it made a huge difference in the overall look.
Then I paid attention to the inside logo plaque. The real one says “Prada Milano” and it’s definitely not plastic or cloth. I found a similar metal piece and engraved it with the same words, I believe it’s really looks like the same, I can’t tell any differences.
The hardware was another story. Prada uses this gold-tone hardware, I tried some gold-tone hardware from another bag, but it seems not good, it’s too bright, and finally I found a similar one from an old bag I had lying around. It wasn’t an exact match, but it had the right color and feel.
Putting it all together was the most challenging part. I followed the design of the original bag as closely as I could, I took lots of photos and compared it with the real one. It has these rolled handles and a leather lining. I managed to replicate the shape and structure, but it definitely took some trial and error.
And there you have it! My homemade version of the Prada Galleria bag. It’s not a perfect replica, but I’m pretty proud of how it turned out. It was a fun project, and I learned a lot about leatherworking along the way. Plus, I saved a ton of money! Now I can rock a similar style without breaking the bank. Not too bad, huh?
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