It’s tough. It’s warm. It’s leather. As winter grips the capital, suddenly its leather, leather everywhere.
Articles made of leather have gained such universal acceptance that everybody has something of leather in his or her wardrobe. You see the tough macho guy, astride a bike in his leather jacket, you see svelte females wearing hip hugging leather skirts, you can see the avante garde in their oh so expensive leather overcoats, Leather has become so versatile and it has been put to optimum use by fashion designers, the world over.
In fact because of its amazing qualities of durability, toughness, etc it forms some part of everybody’s wardrobe be it a sweet sixteen or not so sweet 60 years old.
Today, accessories like belts, purses, jackets, wallets, footwear and waistcoats have become indispensable items of daily use.
As India is fast acquiring technology and know how from advanced countries, the Indian footwear industry is fast becoming a major foreign exchange earner.
And as the Indian consumer becomes more fashion conscious and wants to look as smart as his western counterpart, leather garments are becoming a must for the wardrobe.
Leather jackets are a necessity with the tough young dudes who want to ‘blaze a trail’ on their ‘cool wheels’ in winter.
People who want to rename leather as the ‘tough’ n’ strong wear’.
Remember James dean in Rebel without a cause and Marlon Brando in the Wild ones.
The most amazing thing about leather is its easy adaptability. As fashion pundits’ experiment, leatherwear gathers greater acceptability the world over.
So what if you are not a teenager. You could maybe still wear that leather jacket that you always wanted to but could not afford, it is not uncommon today, to see a leather jacket worn with a formal shirt and a tie in today’s corporate.
In fact leather need not be worn as a jacket at all. Walk into any hi fi leather showroom and you will be amazed at the range of products crafted from leather coats, overcoats, waistcoats trousers, skirts, blouses, belts, buttons, purses, shoes, ties, wrist bands, headbands, gloves you name it and it’s on the racks.
Of course, different articles require different types of leather for best results and we have been ingenuous enough to create different varieties of leather by altering the curing process.
The ‘newcrinkled and printed varieties of leather, though expensive are lasting.
Nubuck’ leather is very much in demand for footwear ‘antique, leather is look given to leather to create the real worn-out look. Molte and textured leather can be seen in the market in different kind of combinations.
So the next time you see leather do not ignore it saying ‘’it will not suit my image. Go ahead, pamper yourself. Indulge in your fantasies and be sure that you will emerge a winner.
THE WRITER IS A FASHION DESIGNER AND FASHION CHOREOGRAPHER AND CAN BE CONTACTED AT prasantt@rediffmail.com / https://www.prasanttghosh.org/