Case study · Chanel Wild Stitch The stitching kept, the black restored.
Front · before no. 1 ↔ after no. 1 — two photos of the front, CC visible, both taken straight on, overlaid. They were taken in different places and light, so the background and light differ.
The after photo is only resized and moved to line up with the before photo. No colour or brightness changes.
Rest the cursor on a photo to look closer through the loupe — up to the photo’s own resolution.
A Wild Stitch bag, faded and uneven in tone at the bottom and sides, dyed back to Chanel black — the leather only, the bold beige stitching left as it was.
Explore the work01 / 04
Up close, four places
The front is overlaid above. Here, the CC and its stitching, and the side and bottom corner — where the tone had shifted — sit side by side, before and after.
01The front, closer
The CC and the stitching around it — the same two photos and the same alignment as the overlay above, this part only, larger. 02The CC and the stitching
Before · no. 7
After · no. 6
The leather and the bold beige stitching around the CC. Only the leather was dyed again; the stitching is as it was. The before was taken from above at an angle and the after from the front, so they cannot be overlaid. Both are framed on the CC and shown side by side.
03The side
Before · no. 3
After · no. 3
The side, where the tone had shifted — now one black up to the zip. Both photos were taken from the side, but at different distances against different backgrounds, so they do not line up exactly. Each is framed on the whole bag and shown side by side.
04Bottom corner
Before · no. 9
After · no. 7
The lower part and the bottom corner, where the difference in tone had built up. The before was taken from the lower side and the after from below — not the same angle. Each is framed on the base studs and shown side by side.
02 / 04
The work, as recorded
What was recorded for this bag: its condition, the target colour, the work and the result.
- Brand
- Chanel
- Piece
- Wild Stitch bag
- Colour in
- Faded black
- Colour out
- Black — its own colour
- Stitching
- Not dyed — all masked, the leather only
- Photos
- 10 before · 3 in progress · 7 after
Faded blackBlackRestored in the same colour
- Condition on arrival
A Chanel Wild Stitch bag, known for its bold beige stitching. The colour had faded all over, the sheen had dulled with use, and the tone had shifted at the bottom and sides.
- Target colour
Dyed to the original Chanel black. The beige stitching is not dyed and stays as it is.
- Colour mixing & process
- Settling the leather
- Masking every stitch line
- Dyeing black
- Finishing
The leather was settled first, then the tone was evened out.
Dye on the stitching would dull the beige, so every stitch line was masked and only the leather was dyed.
Not too jet-black and never too shiny — matched to the depth and natural sheen of the original Chanel black.
- Result
In the photo of the front, taken straight on, the leather reads as an even black and the beige stitching is still there.
Leather can only be dyed darker than its current colour. A faded black can go back to black; black cannot become a lighter colour.
03 / 04
The stitching, masked line by line
On a Wild Stitch bag the bold beige stitching sets the whole look. If the dye reaches the stitching, the beige turns dull and the contrast with the leather is lost.
So before any dye, every stitch line was masked by hand — not some of them, all of them — and only the leather was dyed.
In progress 1 — the front, every stitch line masked 
In progress 2 — the front, closer 
In progress 3 — the side and the zip
04 / 04
If yours looks similar
Message us to talk it through — a photo of the whole bag and a close-up of the stitching help us suggest how to work on it.
