Okay, so I saw this Prada Galleria Saffiano Leather Bag at the official flagship store, the large size, and I just had to try and remake it. I’m not a professional or anything, just a guy who likes to make stuff, so bear with me.
First, I spent a good chunk of time just staring at pictures of the bag online. The official site has some good ones, and I found a few other sites that sell it, like this Mytheresa place, that had even more detailed shots. I needed to figure out what I was dealing with. This thing is made of “Saffiano” leather, which I learned is known for being super durable and having this kind of cross-hatch texture.
Next, I tried to find leather that looked similar. This was tough. I went to a few local shops, and while they had leather, nothing quite matched that Saffiano look. I looked online and I found some of the same leather I saw in stores. It felt like a wild goose chase. I ended up settling for some regular leather that had a decent thickness and feel. It’s not perfect, but it’ll have to do for now.
Then came the actual making part. I’m not gonna lie, this was the hardest part. Cutting the leather into the right shapes was a real pain. I made a rough template based on the measurements I could find online, but it was a lot of trial and error. I used a sharp knife and a ruler, but my lines weren’t always straight. There was a lot of measuring, cutting, and then re-cutting. I wasted a fair bit of leather, to be honest.
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Getting the hardware:
The bag has this gold-tone hardware, like the buckles and the zipper pulls. I found some similar-looking stuff at a craft store. They’re not real gold, obviously, but they have the right color and shine. Also I found similar hardware at some of the local shops I went to for leather, but they didn’t have the best selection.
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The logo:
The Prada logo is this enamel triangle thing. I couldn’t find anything exactly like it, so I had to get creative. I ended up using a piece of metal and some enamel paint. It’s not perfect, but it kind of looks like the real thing if you don’t squint too hard.
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Putting it all together:
Sewing the pieces together was another challenge. I don’t have a fancy sewing machine, so I had to do it all by hand. It took forever, and my stitches definitely aren’t as neat as the ones on the real Prada bag. I used a thick, strong thread, but I still worried about the seams coming apart. I tried to reinforce them as best as I could, but only time will tell if they hold up. I’m still not sure if I should use a machine or not.
After many hours of work, I finally had something that resembled the Prada bag. It’s far from perfect, of course. The leather isn’t quite right, the stitching is a bit messy, and the logo is a bit off. But, you know what? I’m actually pretty proud of it. I made this thing with my own two hands, and it actually looks like a bag! It was so much fun figuring out how the bag was made. It’s not perfect, but I like it. I might try making this bag again, and see if I can improve it.
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