Leather is a wonderful luxury material from which some of the most beautiful iconic pieces in fashion industry were made. It is desirable for practical characteristics such as endurance, flexibility, texture and breathability, as well as connotative meaning, reference to artistic heritage and rebel philosophy.
Organizations like PETA consider the use of leather absolutely unacceptable, and they are right to do so, but the world has not reached that civilization level yet. The leather industry is profitable business, worth billions of dollars. The sad fact is that the leather is not always a side product of meat industry, which means that some animals are bred exclusively for the skins.
When designing, one must approach leather with great care and respect. Cutting one-season pieces in leather as well as over usage is ostentatious and ethically questionable. It is a bad taste and can harm designer’s reputation.
Processing
The leather usage dates in prehistoric times. Ancient Egyptians made sandals, belts, pillows, chair seats, shields and harness, and Greeks and Romans used to harden animal skins by boiling it, and then they would make an armor. Once the leather processing became more advanced it found an extremely wide field of application.
Normally, unprocessed raw hide dries and becomes stiff and brittle. That's why a process called tanning was developed which permanently alters the protein structure of the skin, making the material more resistant, more flexible and ready for dyeing. Most common tanning method is with chrome, and it is how soft nappa leather is treated. There are many ways of treating the hide in order to gain a different quality and effect. For example, leather can be coated with plastic-like finish which results in a glossy sleek look.
Leather types
Commercial hides are most commonly obtained from cattle, but also from other animals such as pig, deer, ostrich, kangaroo, reptiles and even fish. At different times in history, different types were popular. Exotic leather was considered more fashionable and certain species of snakes and crocodiles have been hunted. In Art Deco period, fish skin was desirable because of its motifs and pigmentation. Shagreen, also known as stingray skin was one of them, and it is known as the one of the most difficult leather to work with due to the concave scales. To emphasize natural texture of the leather, those scales are dyed white and the rest of the leather in different color. Shagreen is durable and it is very expensive. It is used as a grip on swords, such as Japanese katana.
Today there is plenty of novelty in leather making, like economical leather that bonds leather leftovers with latex. Machine-washable leather. Translucent leather.