There’s something exciting about the new luxe leather trend – so exciting, in fact, that our normally insouciant stylist, Lill Jenner, found herself chasing Bassike designer Deborah Sams across a room a couple of months ago to enquire about where she’d got the burgundy leather pant she was wearing. “I said, ‘Are they yours? Where can I get them?’” says Lill, slightly apologetically. (You can now buy the pant in question below.) “They’re almost a cigarette cut,” she adds. “The flat-lay really doesn’t do them justice.”
Where leather used to be restricted to biker jackets, bags and shoes, now it’s being used as a material like any other – in tops, dresses, skirts and pants. There are no rock-chick connotations here, either. Instead, a looser cut creates a silhouette that feels sophisticated and grown-up. “The leather pieces I’ve chosen are very chic – they feel luxurious,” says Lill. She particularly loves the Isabel Marant white top. “It’s a lovely, fresh white leather. It’d look amazing with the camel trench and a black leather skirt and kitten heel.”
If head-to-toe leather feels too brave, Lill recommends wearing, say, the Bassike leather pant with a chunky, textural knit, or a crisp cotton shirt. Vegan leather has also improved a LOT since the pleather of 10 years ago; in some cases, adds Lill, you can hardly tell the difference. Apart from the price, that is. There’s no doubt that leather can be expensive and may also require some specialist care. “The main thing is to be careful how you store it,” says Lill. “Leather can absorb moisture and get mouldy in a cupboard, so keep it in a drier place or bring it out into the sun from time to time, and spot clean it with leather wipes – you can buy them at service stations.” Good for upholstery and your new skirt. Win.
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