Suede Corset Belt

My client Mariella asked me to recreate a brown suede corset belt with contrasting tie straps from Dehanche. My existing designer inspired corset belts are full grain leather that is roughly 2mm thick, providing structure to the belts; suede is made from 'genuine leather' which is actually a term that refers to a specific layer of the hide (the layer below the 'grain', called the corium). This layer is more loosely grained and so suede alone will not hold the structure required for this belt. I came up with the idea of using a full grain leather panel, but turning it around so the back of the leather faced outward. The back of the panel exposes the more loosely grained fibers of the leather, so using a roughing tool, I pulled up the leather fibers for a sueded look. Using trimmers, I went over the fibers multiple times to make the fiber length uniform and clean. The resulting belt provided that sueded appearance, with the grain of the leather intact to hold the belts structured shape.