Cowhide, Il Bisonte’s iconic material, is a fine leather that undergoes a “vegetal tanning” process, an ancient practice used throughout Tuscany for thousands of years.

Beautiful and resistant, these creations in cowhide are a joy for the senses: their softness, their delicate perfume of wood, their unpredictable transparencies along with the golden patina that forms on its surface are distinctive features of our unique products.

Water, wind, bark of chestnut trees and sunlight are the secrets of the magic that allows the bags and accessories of Il Bisonte to accompany our lives, changing day after day with us: the tannin, used as the active ingredient of vegetal tanning, combined with the very personal use that each one of us makes of bags and accessories, covers the creations of Il Bisonte with a surprising patina of time.

So each product truly becomes a unique piece, the result of the unrepeatable alchemy of natural agents and the hustle and bustle of day to day life.

Quality takes time and cowhide is no exception. No fewer than 20 days pass from when the salt-preserved raw hides begin to be processed to when they are ready to be used. The entire production process takes place within the tannery.

Once selected, the hides are first washed and rehydrated. Then they are put into drums, large cylindrical containers in weathered and watertight wood, similar to gigantic washing machines. Here, lime is used to eliminate hair and epidermis. The leather is ready for lime-removal, maceration and degreasing, which take place through numerous steps in different drums.

The cowhide is then processed with animal fats and treated with tannin and anilines, both plant-based, and then left to dry. After the drying period comes the finishing process: in order to optimize quality and appearance a fundamental process called “follonatura” is carried out. It is a dry procedure (without water) that uses heat to break up the inner fibers of the leather, making it particularly soft to the touch. During this phase it is decided whether to highlight a particular grain or make it more homogeneous to the eye. 

Tanners repeat this all the time: in order to really understand the quality and authenticity of a cowhide leather bag or accessory, you have to put it to the test of time. Immediately after tanning, in fact, it is not easy to distinguish chemically tanned from vegetable-treated leather. The only persuasive proof of its naturalness is its ability to age beautifully.

When all Il Bisonte cowhide products age they do not degenerate, even those dyed from their natural colour.

No animal is killed specifically to produce cowhide. The hides Il Bisonte uses are derived exclusively from animals killed for food and which would create serious disposal problems it they weren’t used.

Il Bisonte cowhide is completely vegetable-tanned. This means that neither chromium nor other substances which are harmful to man and the environment are used for its production. The ban of toxic agents such as azo dyes, nickel and pentachlorophenol reduces the risk of intolerances related to the daily use of bags and small leather goods which are well tolerated even by those allergic to heavy metals.

Thanks to its chemical-biological characteristics, vegetable-tanned cowhide can be easily disposed of.

Even most of the substances used in leather-processing are reclaimed, processed and reused in other sectors. The hair removed from raw hides, for example, is reused in agriculture as a fertilizer, while the sludge from the purifiers is reused to produce bricks.

Il Bisonte uses only full-grain leather, the most natural in its category and among the most valuable on the market. Its typical wrinkles and small superficial inconsistencies testify to its naturalness and high quality.

In addition to classic cowhide, Il Bisonte also uses “vintage cowhide” which undergoes a special process that further softens the skin and immediately gives it a lived-in effect. Vintage cowhide is mainly used in the men’s collections and for sportier designs.

Metallic cowhide leather, which is obtained by applying a coloured vegetable film, ages like any other without the typical “peeling” that can occur with chemically-treated colored leather.

The special and unique characteristics of cowhide allow it to be used to create leather bags and accessories that require great craftsmanship such as hand stitching, inked edges and well crafted binding edges.