Many people have heard of epi leather, and they wonder what it means. Epi leather is used in luxury goods because it has excellent qualities. It is durable, strong, and looks classic, making it useful in making many beautiful designs.
Have you asked the question, what is epi leather? Well, its history is rich, and it is used in the making of various leather goods. It is a significant weapon that gave Louis Vuitton a major launch into the leather line.
What is Epi Leather?
Epi leather is a vegetable-tanned leather stamped with a textured pattern that looks like ripples. Natural plant extracts are used to process raw hides to finished leather to produce vegetable-tanned leather.
Epi leather is usually made using leather from young cows (calfskin) because they are soft, smooth, and supple. Such leather is traditionally stamped with a texture that looks like horizontal lines, which gives it a unique feel when touched and an exceptional visual pattern.
The leather is always dyed lively colors that make them attractive. Some of this leather is shiny, while some others are matte in appearance. Another excellent thing about epi leather is that it has a coating that makes it resistant to water and stains making it valued by many people.
Epi leather was inspired in 1926 when Georges Vuitton made a custom tea case for his customer at request. Georges designed a tea case that has a fine leather stamped with a grain pattern. The full-grain leather pattern later inspired the making of Epi leather and its introduction to the Louis Vuitton company in 1985.
Is epi leather durable? Yes, it is durable because it is made using a horizontal design pattern that withstands stains, scratches, and scrapes. Then, it is covered with a coating that protects it from water. Another reason why Epi leather is durable is because of its easy cleaning where you can simply use a moist cloth.
Process of Making Epi Leather
The making of Epi leather is a straightforward process. The process includes tanning, dyeing, stamping, and finishing.
Tanning and Dyeing: the calfskin leather is first tanned using chemicals from natural plants. Then, it is passed to those who know how to dye leather to dye it with various colors that are bold and lively.
Stamping: after the dyeing comes to the stamping process done by machines. The machines press the unique horizontal pattern on the leather skin, giving it raised groves and lines to form a texture that resists scrapes and scratches.
Finishing: next is to apply a clear finish on the textured leather to further protects it against scratches and water.
Types of Epi Leather
There are two types of Epi leather: Epi electric leather and classic Epi leather.
Classic Epi Leather: The Louis Vuitton Classic Epi leather has a solid and special textured pattern. Its leather is unique, with a horizontal texture stamped on its surface to create a different look that makes it unique. It was introduced in the year 1985.
This type of Epi leather is used to make different designs that come in different colors made from a paint technology and juice before it is dyed. The dying process involves the use of a unique color technology to generate a distinctive color.
Epi Electric Leather: The Epi Electric leather is a lot like the classic epi leather with all of its uniqueness. However, it has an added advantage as it is improved with better-defined interlacing and lines that look larger, making the products attractive.
This type of Epi leather appears more modern and easy to maintain. It has a bright polished surface that makes it shine at night, making you stand out from the rest. Cleaning this leather is super easy and quick, and it is resistant to scratch. It was introduced years after the classic version.
Both epi leather types are used to make a variety of products that many people love for their uniqueness and style. Products made with any of the leather types are attractive and fashionable.
Epi Leather Products
The Epi leather is applicable in making many fashionable items for seasonal and everyday use by men and women. For instance, they are used to produce backpacks, belts for males and females, handbags, messenger bags, sneakers, purses, shoes, and clutches.
Most fashionistas who love style, luxury, and elegance always appreciate this unique leather. Therefore, they ensure they have an Epi leather bag in their bag collection.
How to Care for Epi Leather
Having Epi leather is one thing, it’s proper care is another thing because taking care of this leather helps it to last longer and still look beautiful. So, if you’ve been wondering how to clean epi leather and care for it, then you can follow the procedure below.
It is a 3-step process where the first step is a deep cleaning of spots, the second step is moisturizing, and the third step is a moisturizing finish.
First Step
Deep cleaning of spots: this process involves cleaning the leather thoroughly with a good leather cleaner to remove stains and spots. You’ll need to scrub a little harder if the stains are stubborn, and this may take a longer time.
You can clean the spots for like 10 minutes for a start, then let it rest for some minutes before checking to see if they are gone. If not, you can repeat the cleaning as many times as required till you get the result you desire.
When you have a good result or see an improvement on the stains or spots, you may stop cleaning and dry the leather before proceeding to the next step.
Second Step
Moisturizing: this involves the application of a quality leather moisturizer on the Epi leather. You can moisturize by dipping a clean cloth into the moisturizing gel to collect a thin layer of it. Then, apply it all over the leather to get a good shine.
Third Step
This step is the application of another round of moisturizing using a polishing cream. Applying this moisturizer will add extra shine to the leather and give it a perfect finish to make it look good as new. You can apply it to the leather using a clean piece of cloth dipped into the cream.
Apply only a thin layer of the polishing cream on all parts of the Epi leather for a perfect shine. You can check out this video to know more about how to care for epi leather.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
People have various questions about the epi leather, and some of those questions are:
Is Epi leather real leather?
Yes, Epi leather is real natural leather made from vegetable-tanned young cow skin, making it beautiful with no surface scars. It is tanned with plant tannins and has a texture that appears like moving fields of wheat exposed to the sun.
This leather is durable, soft, and flexible. Its durability and toughness are usually because of the stamping and tanning it goes through. It comes out as a fine leather that is water and scratch-resistant.
Is Epi leather better than canvas?
Both epi leather and canvas are unique in their different ways. Although, the epi leather is stiffer and more versatile than canvas. It is long-lasting as its stitches are sturdy and do not wear off fast.
How do you tell if Louis Vuitton Epi is real?
There are some indicators that show if Louis Vuitton Epi leather is real or fake. Such indicators include:
- Authentic Louis Vuitton Epi leather has an LV logo embossed lightly at a corner of the item.
- It has the correct LV leather trademark symbol. The letter “O” in Louis Vuitton’s stamps should be faultless circles. The trademark stamp should always have a consistent and clear embossing.
- The stamp embossing on zippers should be clear, even, and consistent.
- Its plaque should have neat finishing and smooth edges. If the edges are irregular, rough and the letters have machine marks, it’s not the real Epi leather.
- The glazing on Louis Vuitton’s Epi leather items is applied in a careful and even manner. The fake ones usually appear uneven and untidy.
- Louis Vuitton’s Epi leather bags have special, thick Alcantara microfiber lining that has a luxurious feel. Still, the fake one has Alcantara microfiber lining materials that feel thin and appear rough. Some fake ones use pigskin suede lining that has noticeable pores in them.
- The stitching on the genuine Louis Vuitton Epi leather bags is almost perfect and consistent, but the fake ones usually have poor leather cutting, visible imperfections, and rough stitching.
What is Louis Vuitton Epi?
Louis Vuitton Epi leather is the brand’s unique leather used in producing lots of fashion items for everyday use. LV introduced the Epi leather in 1985, and it is recognized globally till present. It is known for its top quality and durability even when used every day.
Louis Vuitton’s Epi leather comes in different colors and color combinations such as Toledo Blue, Bicolor Green, Kenyan Fawn, Tassel Yellow, etc. It also comes in various models such as the Keepall, Noe, Petite Noe, Neverfull, Speedy, and lots more.
Does Epi leather crack?
Epi leather rarely cracks as they are produced to stay beautiful as they last long. However, the upper trim leather may have some leather chipping after many years of use.
Final Words
The Epi leather is unique in every sense and has excellent qualities that make it stand out. If you’ve been curious and have asked the question, what is epi leather? Then, I believe that your curiosity has been satisfied with all we’ve written about the Epi leather.
Therefore, if you are looking to invest in a high-quality leather item that is recognized and will last you for many years, the Epi leather is a brilliant choice.