YOU may know cane toads as a poisonous ecological
invader, but one fashion designer has turned them into a hot fashion accessory.
Polish designer Monika Jarosz's luxury Kobja brand
inspired by the fairytale idea of the "toad that transforms itself into
Prince Charming".
Introduced from South America decades ago to control
the native cane beetle, the cane toad may have outstayed its welcome in the
South Sea Islands and in Australia,
but today their skins have become a much-prized luxury fashion material.
A friend unknowingly set the wheels of innovation in
motion by giving Ms Jarosz a stuffed frog from New Zealand as a gift.
"(It) disgusted me but ended up by fascinating
me," she said.
Three short years later, and her luxury accessory
business is producing bags, belts and purses made from whole skins, set with
semi-precious stones or Swarovski crystals in place of the eyes.
The high-end leather items, which come in an array of
colours including vermilion red, emerald green, turquoise, fuchsia and black,
are now sold in Asia, Europe and the US.
A purse can cost between between 220 and 250 euros
($300 and $360), depending on the country, while a large bag would be priced at
around 1200 euros.
Ms Jarosz came to France
from Poland
12 years ago to work as a model before developing an interest in design, in
particular working with unusual materials.
Fascinated by the stuffed frog, she recalled that the
more she stroked it the more the idea of creating something "really good
like a jewel" from a similar material started to take shape.
But finding skins to work with presented a problem. In
vain, Ms Jarosz made inquiries with restaurants serving frogs legs.
Then she discovered the existence of the toads of the
South Sea Islands where they had proliferated to such an extent they were in
the process of destroying several local species.
Animal defence organisations had recommended that they
be selectively eliminated.
With the help of a taxidermist in Cairns, Ms Jarosz set about transforming the
skins into high fashion.
After the taxidermy, the skins are tanned, dried and
coloured in France, ending
up in a workshop in Paris
where the leather is cut, stitched, set with crystals or stones and lined with
lamb or goat skin.
"When I called Jean-Charles Duchene (who runs the
tannery in Paris)
for a quote, they thought it was a joke," she recalled.
"It was a challenge because we had to adapt to
the material. The toad (skin) is denser than lamb, the dye is fixed quicker and
it needs less," she added.
A symbol of fertility and prosperity in some cultures,
the toad is also linked to sorcery, Ms Jarosz added.
Now sold in luxury goods shops or concept stores in Tokyo, Beijing, New York, Paris and Berlin, Ms Jarosz's
quirky products have developed an almost cult-like following among some
customers.
Some even give their bags names, she said, and
regularly update her with news about them.
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