Leather is a product of the wondrous structure of nature and beauty, with intricate fibrous patterns that lay underneath its grained surface. It has long been an icon of authenticity, naturalness, a symbol of luxury, and a smell and touch so profound, that it stirs primeval feeling of sensual pleasure. One of the major materials of the past, Its evidence of use goes back to Egyptian wall paintings and the Bible. It has been used in various ways including but not limited to tanned leather, oil or fat-treated skin, rawhide, vellum, or parchment. One of the major reasons for its popularity has been attributed to its profound utility, endurance, and desirability to use animal skin as a material.
Animal skin, if left without treatment, will decay very quickly due to decomposition carried out by bacteria. However, this process can be slowed down, if the leather skin is cured, tanned, and dressed to create a resistant product. This resistant leather product is popular due to its flexible strong and sheet material, and also because of its easy availability in cultures where a lot of animals are slaughtered for meat. Leather can be hard . firm and rigid like a basket, soft and supple like a cloth, or water-tight and hard like a utensil, all due to the varying chemical and physical properties of the animal skin, the species, and the method used for treating it. An understanding of animal skin transformation during leather tanning is very important for creating and innovating aesthetically pleasing leather products. The craftsmen often pay attention to the sensory nature of leather during crafting and how it is felt to the touch of the skin, for example, vellum material is used as a wall covering due to its smoothness to the touch while also being visually aesthetic due to its translucency and texture created by the hair follicle.
Since humans migrated to the northern hemisphere, leather has been a common material used in the past as it was worn by our ancestors to protect against the harsh cold starting from the Paleolithic era. They had raw materials such as animal hide all around them, these were shaped, pounded, salted, dried, and sewed to be better used. According to the recent and most common archaeological excavations findings, it became extensively used in Europe and the Mediterranean region, especially during the Roman period as the technology of leather processing improved with the introduction of vegetable tanning. Leather has also been preserved and found in over 3000 years old equipment of Egyptian chariots, hence, surviving the harsh dry environment of Egypt. This equipment was often used in fast-paced heated battles. One of the features of chariots included bands that were used to secure leather casings to the wooden structures. Accouterments worn by charioteers, such as wrist guards, horse trappings, reins, and harnesses were also made of leather. Some of the leather pieces were decorated with leather applique work, while others were plain. The leather was divided into two main groups, based on robustness and color, green and red fine leather, and green and beige robust leather.
(Leather workshop showing the manufacturing of various chariot-related objects as well as the application of leather parts to the chariot itself, such as the tires. From: Davies 1963, pl.VIII)
Leather was also used in the Mediterranean as wineskin which was used as a storage utensil for wine. Its ability to give a unique taste to wine was one of the reasons for its popularity in feasts and drinking parties as well as in religious festivals. Cuir bouilli, an armor famously used in Medieval times, was made of hardened leather. The name itself is generally translated from Norman French as ‘boiled leather’. This nonmetallic armor had amazing defensive properties against arrows which explains its popularity. The use of leather was also prevalent by Native Americans during the 19th century to make shields. The effectiveness of this Native American shield in combat was remarked by a United States Army surgeon in 1862 who stated that this material made of bull hide was arrow-proof while merely weighing not more than eight or ten pounds.
In some of the North European traditions of leather crafting, women used to select the area of leather skin in animal and processing methods to make the shoes which protected the feet from wet autumn and cold winter, this often was a source of pride to the wearer of these shoes. But this all long ago, what about the recent times? In 1963 a new revolution of leather began, started by Men like Johnny Piccard, (a young chemist), Charlie Lynch, (a marketing director), and Bill Lawson, (a B-17 fighter pilot). They would bring back the product often used in common speech as” hell-bent for leather”. The development of leather processing machines replaced hand processing from 1769 to around 1850.
Leather now is used as extensively as it was used in the past. Even the current technology of fast fashion faux/PU leather has not been able to replace the authentic material. Its durability and robustness are one of the reasons why it has been preferred in the luxury fashion industry. However, due to its high cost, it has been out of reach for the majority of middle-class people all around the world. We, GarmentsX are trying our best to produce leather that can be afforded by the majority of the middle-class population. We are able to do this by using the leather skin of the animals that are primarily used for meat, which would have otherwise been thrown away, to be recycled in a sustainable way and processed to have the end product which is not only superior in quality and craftsmanship but also in reach of the majority of the population. You can explore our leather jackets in our web shop Garmentsx.com and Garmentsx.hu (Hungarian shop), and order now!
Author:
Muhammad Salman
Bsc Biology | University of Debrecen, Hungary
References:
WHY LEATHER? The Material and Cultural Dimensions of Leather by Susanna Harris & André J. Veldmeijer | 2014
FAUX REAL: Genuine Leather and 200 Years of Inspired Fakes by Robert Kanigel