Prada brown leather tote — faded colour restored

A Prada tote in cognac-brown grained leather. Colour had gone from the sides that caught the sun and from where hands touch it, so the bag looked patchy, with some areas paler than others.

The original brown. The colour was matched to the least-faded area, and the faded areas were dyed back to it.

The faded areas were filled back to the less-faded colour; nothing was made lighter.

1. Cleaning
2. Matching the colour to the least-faded area
3. Dyeing to even out the tone
4. Finishing

Depending on how far it had faded, the brown kept different amounts of red and yellow, so the least-faded area was taken as the reference.

The gold-tone clasp and the shape of the handles are unchanged.

The pale faded patches on the front flap are gone, and the whole bag reads as an even cognac brown.Before · photo 2 / After · photo 10

The after photos look slightly redder; this may be a difference in lighting or white balance.After · photo 6

The two photos differ in angle, background or light, so they are shown side by side rather than overlaid.