Case in point, Jeeves was recently entrusted to restore an Alexandre Vauthier black leather and sequined dress that was used for a photo shoot. The stylist used latex tape to hold part of the sequined detail so that it featured prominently.  It did the trick but had an unfortunate outcome. It nearly ruined the dress.

If tape or stickers are put on leather or suede, when the tape is removed, the top layer of the finish of the skin will also be removed. This leaves behind a perfect outline of the tape or sticker.  Unfortunately, sometimes this issue cannot be fixed.

Jeeves stepped in to save the Alexandre Vauthier dress, executing a delicate and thoughtful restoration.    Our experts carefully coaxed off the latex tape using a dry-cleaning solution, tweezers and a great deal of patience. The next step was to dissolve the glue and assess the finish for damage.  Thankfully, only the barest top layer of the skin was removed by the tape, so refinishing was possible. After hand-cleaning the entire garment, black dye was applied to the damaged areas to restore what the tape took off.  Jeeves staff, after working for seven and a half hours was able to save a $6,000 dress.

Here is another real-life example.  A Jeeves client wore a beautiful green leather Giorgio Armani top to an event at her son’s school. The volunteer at the door put a “Hi my name is” sticker right on the right chest of the top.  When our client took the sticker off after the event, she was left with a 3-inch rectangular mark where the finish was torn off. This restoration was difficult as the green leather had a textured appearance. Jeeves was able to restore the finish somewhat, but the results were not perfect.

So, the moral of the story is, never put a sticker or tape on leather or suede. If you do, do not remove the sticker or tape yourself. Cleaning the item with the tape or sticker in place may minimize the damage caused.

If you have this issue, contact Jeeves (https://www NULL.jeevesny NULL.com/contact/), we are at your service.