Leather Goes Mainstream

Ebony, Jan, 2001

LEATHER used to be a symbol of cool rebellion. A Sister could don a leather jacket and instantly change from church girl to diva. While it's true that leather-wearers still possess a certain attitude, that label is slowly fading away. It's no longer just the gear of the hip set. Leather has gone mainstream.

A staple of the fall season's designer collections, the fabric can be seen on women everywhere from the workplace to nightclubs and bars, even at elegant soirees.

"In the quest for something fresh, search for fabrics that haven't been used in a while," says Kenneth Marlon Owen, assistant to the producer of Ebony Fashion Fair, explaining the resurgence of leather in fashion collections. "That's why leather and fur have both made big comebacks. Whenever a large number of designers use a fabric, it becomes popular for the season."

Crystal Ashby is among the Sisters who have made leather and its more affordable cousin--polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or pleather--part of their wardrobes. The 39-year-old Chicago lawyer has treasures--from an olive-green leather car coat she bought a decade ago to a pair of brown pleather pants she bought at a woman's boutique in October.

"I think a lot more women are wearing leather and pleather because they're searching for alternatives," says the attorney for BP Amoco Corp. "They're trying to create a fashion statement that's attractive, sexy and comfortable to wear."

Wearing leather separates, says Owen, has become a favorite of people searching for chic casual-wear. He equates the appeal of a pair of Black leather pants to a pair of jeans. Pop culture icons from rap stars to actresses and actors have made it cool to incorporate leather into everyday attire.

Like an increasing number of women, Ashby wears leather to social outings and even to work. In the courtroom, she may be restricted to suits. But in her office, business casual is de rigeur. A short black leather jacket paired with a pair of black pants and a turtleneck, the attorney says, make a stylish professional statement.

Fashion experts like Owen say while working women are using leather as a new casual option, the runways show leather as a mark of glamor. "Leather is perceived to be a fabric of opulence and luxury," Owen says, "sort of like fur. It has a richness to it. Everyone knows it's expensive. It has the overall appeal of wealth."

Designers are showing leather as a total outfit, experts say, rather than just as an accessory such as skirt or coat. Picture jumpsuits in leather paired wit leather dusters and leather dresses with matching leather coats. A surprising place leather is popping up, Owen says, is at elegant evening events.

"It's appearing in full-length evening gowns," he says. "Designers are matching leather bodices with satin skirts. Some are even using lasers to punch out lace designs in leather."

The high-fashion appeal of leather may be a trend for the wealthy, but black women say the allure of everyday leather is here to stay. Wearing leather, Sisters agree, gives you that extra sass that puts spice in your step and turn heads. "There is a certain confidence factor when you put on leather ...," Ashby says. "It says something like `I'm in control of my destiny. You can't tell me what to wear.'"