Leather is timeless and stylish. As Tan France, an English-American designer who is most well-known for his appearance on Netflix’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, said: “A leather jacket always makes you look cooler, sometimes chicer, and it elevates your look to make you look like you’ve purchased something expensive to set yourself apart.”
Leather has been elevated beyond the humble jacket, shoe, bag and belt and is gracing the catwalks of New York, London and Paris as part of other pieces of clothing. So while the fall 2019 collections were all about leather with top-to-toe leather outfits, spring/summer is all about using leather more subtly with fashion fundis recommending that leather pieces are paired with oversize silhouettes and oversize cuts.
It’s All About Co-Natural
Linea Pelle, which is the most prestigious global exhibition for – among others – leather, accessories, components, as well as synthetics, recently introduced their theme for the industry for Spring/Summer 2020.
They called this theme Co-Natural and highlighted that the distinction between humans and machines is becoming less visible thanks to the Fourth Industrial Revolution that we are currently going through. Owing to this merger, we need to re-emphasise our humanity which is why Co-Natural deals with the sustainability of work, the ethics of traceability.
Coloured Leather Takes Centre Stage
The trend towards coloured leather has been around for a while and is not going anywhere, anytime soon. Says Erica Russo: Vice President and Director of Fashion and Accessories at Bloomingdales, pastel shades are gracing the runways – at Bottega Veneta and Max Mara to Emilia Wickstead – and will be on the racks for Spring/Summer 2020 with jewel tones being introduced for the fall.
We’re seeing designers being adventurous with the leather that they choose as well as the styles and colours. For example, Max Mara decided to reinvent the slip dress in soft, tan leather which is perfect for the warmer weather. For those of us who don’t want to spend on Haute couture, it’s great to see that high street fashion outlets – such as ASOS – are also sporting the (imitation) leader trend.
The Reinvention Of The Leather Jacket
Every year, the iconic leather jacket gets reinvented. While previously the must-have style was the biker jacket this year it’s gone back to more of a blazer. We’ve seen style icons blending the blazer with the coloured leather –, particularly animal print.
If you do decide to subscribe to this trend, there are a couple of pointers that you should apply. If you’re short, don’t wear a long blazer as this will give the impression that you’re drowning in the jacket and will make you seem shorter than you are. If you’re taller or want to hide your tummy, opt for a longer blazer but don’t make it too long – just below your knees – because if it’s too long, it could look as if you’re wearing a dressing gown.
Whatever the trends in leather are this year, don’t blindly follow them. Before you decide to splash out, make sure that you like it because, if you don’t, you’ll end up not wearing it.
