Leather and Suede

 

Leather is animal skin that has been preserved and softened through various processes (generally known as tanning) for use in clothing, accessories, and other applications. Suede is a type of leather in which the skin's inner surface is processed to produce a pleasing texture.

History of Leather in Clothing

Leather was used to make clothing by CroMagnon man approximately 50,000 years ago. Around this time, early humans began to migrate from relatively warm regions of the planet to more northern and colder parts of the northern hemisphere. Although prehistoric people discovered that animal skins could be used to keep warm, they would have had difficulty using untreated skins because animal skins stiffen when dried. Among the many discoveries made by our ancient forefathers, one of the most important to their survival was the preservation (tanning) and processing of animal skins. They accomplished this by boiling the skins in tree bark and then salting them, among other methods. Almost all preservation methods ended with rubbing the skins with animal fat to soften them, followed by bending and working the skins (or chewing them) until they were soft. This would soften the skins enough for them to be worn and tied around the body comfortably. Later, bone tools (such as needles and awls) were developed to sew skins together to make clothing.

There is evidence that women wore leather garments in Sumeria and Mesopotamia from the fifth to third millennia B.C. In Egypt, an almost perfectly preserved gazelle skin loincloth dating from 1580-1350 B.C.E. was discovered. The Bible also contains numerous references to leather. Tanneries were discovered in the Pompeii ruins.

While animal skins were traditionally tanned to highlight the skin's "grain" (outer) side, it was eventually discovered that otherwise unusable skins (e.g., grain sides that were scratched) could be salvaged by processing the inside of the skins. This type of "inside-out" leather was the forerunner to suede.

Many countries, including Spain, England, and France, began to perfect their own tanning techniques over time.

These occasionally included novel refinements; for example, in the seventeenth century, the French would bathe the skins in perfume to cover up the disagreeable odor left on them after tanning.

Native Americans introduced early European settlers to the technique of oil tanning in North America. Tepees were made of leather by American Indians, and their leather clothing was embellished with beads, bones, porcupine quills, and feathers. They also painted elaborate battle scenes on their garments. They were able to produce white leather, a particularly difficult color to achieve, thanks to their exceptional tanning skills.

Augustus Schultz, an American chemist, invented a newer, faster method of tanning using chromium salts in the nineteenth century. This breakthrough shortened the tanning process from weeks to months to hours. Engineers in America and Europe began to develop special machines and processes that increased tanning productivity even further. By 2004, tanneries all over the world had closely guarded proprietary techniques in order to gain a competitive advantage. Many tanneries are investigating the environmentally friendly method of vegetable tanning, which employs extracts from quebracho wood and chestnut.

Throughout history, designers have regarded leather as having a certain allure. Leather has long been associated with status, from the earliest decorated ceremonial garments worn by tribesmen to high fashion couture collections. Leather is associated with "luxury" due to the high cost and craftsmanship involved in its production.

Leather has also been used to make sandals and shoes for thousands of years. Furthermore, it has important industrial applications, such as making drive belts for industrial machinery.

The Processing of Leather

Leather is a byproduct of food consumption that is used to make clothing. Cows, goats, sheep, lambs, pigs, and deer are the most commonly consumed and used for clothing animals. A tannery is a facility that processes leather. A tannery is a factory that purchases raw skins from abattoirs, transforms the skins into leather, colors them, and then sells them to manufacturers. Animal skins come from all over the world, and tanneries can be found everywhere.

"Hides" (the pelt of large animals like pigs, deer, and cows) and "skins" (smaller animals like goats, sheep, and lambs) are delivered to the tannery de-haired, either preserved dried or preserved "pickled" (i.e., chemically treated with various salts, water, and sulfuric acid). The treated hides and skins are known as crusts. Before tanning, crusts that have dried to a boardlike state can be stored for several months.

Tanning is a process that is determined by several factors, including the buyer's skin type, the desired end use, and the price he or she is willing to pay. Tanneries can create a soft, subtle expensive skin by using specific amounts of fat liquors, chromium salts, and other chemicals or vegetable tannins. Alternatively, by eliminating certain steps, they can produce a less expensive skin. Color can be added to skins by adding it to the drum after tanning to produce aniline skins, or by spraying color onto the surface of the skin to produce semi-aniline skins. In the case of extremely poor quality skins, color can be applied in higher concentrations to conceal flaws. These are known as pigmented skins. Pigmented skin is typically rough to the touch.

Leather skins can be processed on both sides of the skin. When a leather skin is de-haired and tanned with the grain side out, a smooth finish known as nappa is produced. When the underside of a leather skin is buffed, a velvety nap known as suede is produced. A leather-splitting machine was invented in 1809 that could split heavy leathers to any desired thickness, producing split skins that are sueded on both sides. Splitting cow and pig suede is less expensive than splitting singlesided lamb and goat suede. The grain side of leather can also be processed to produce a napped finish known as nubuck, but this is not true suede.

Skins are sorted at the tannery to determine which will be made into suede and which will be made into nappa. Suede can be made from lower-quality skins than nappa, but it requires several more processing steps. Lamb, sheep, goat, pig, and cow are the most common animals used to make garment weight suede. Suede has a nap similar to velvet and corduroy; therefore, when cutting suede into garments, care must be taken to avoid color shading. While nappa skins are generally more expensive than suede, the higher material consumption caused by shading loss usually results in equal pricing at the retail level.

Leather Innovation

Tanneries around the world are constantly developing new recipes to tan and color skins in order to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. Tanneries guard their recipes and special leather-processing techniques. Tanneries frequently develop many innovative production techniques in collaboration with fashion designers. Stamping, embossing, distressing, tie-dyeing, pleating, printing, beading, flocking, perforating, and embroidery are just a few of the unique techniques that designers have developed to enhance the beauty of leather skins.

Designers have used leather in the same way that they have used cloth over the years. Designers have always appreciated the uniqueness of leather, from its primary use in outerwear and sportswear to the most elaborate eveningwear. Leather items such as General Patton's aviator jacket worn during WWII and James Dean's black leather jacket worn in the 1950s set important fashion trends. Bonnie Cashin, an American designer, worked extensively in leather from the 1960s to the 1970s. Through the 1980s, European designers such as Claude Montana, Versace, Armani, Ungaro, Fendi, Gucci, Alaia, and Hermès led the way in leather apparel design. By the mid-to-late 1980s, many of the top American designers, including Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Geoffrey Beene, Donna Karan, and Bill Blass, had discovered leather's limitless possibilities.

In 2004, leather garments were available at all price points, ranging from the most expensive leathers used in couture to skins used in mass-market clothing.

Suede Innovation

Suede clothing is more fragile and difficult to keep clean than non-suede leathers. This is due to the fact that suede absorbs stains. Wearing suede is considered a luxury and a status symbol. Designers have used suede for its beauty throughout history. Many designers prefer to work in suede, especially when creating soft, drapey, fluid styles. Suede is used in the same way that a designer would use cloth. Suede has the ability to be draped, pleated, gathered, and fluted. Paquin, a French designer, created a suit out of goat suede and wool in 1930. Hermès used cow-slit to create a coatdress in 1957, and Bonnie Cashin used it in her suede ensemble from the 1960s. Couturiers love suede, as seen in Givenchy's suede patchwork suit from Couture Collection 1992 and Jean Paul Gaultier's suede-draped tunic from Couture Autumn/Winter Collection 2002.

Designers frequently collaborate with tanneries to create suede innovations such as reversible and double-faced skins, embossing to resemble endangered animal hides, and the development of new perforating techniques.

Social and Political Issues

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal-rights organization, has a history of attacking the leather apparel and fur industries. Though they acknowledge that most leathers used in clothing are made from food waste, they have accused manufacturers in developing countries of inhumane slaughtering practices as well as the use of toxins in leather tanning.

The Leather Apparel Association (LAA) is a trade organization that represents leather manufacturers, cleaners, suppliers, tanners, and retailers throughout the United States. The LAA's mission is to constantly monitor and improve the health and future of the leather apparel industry, as well as to provide support against PETA. Another organization that represents tanneries, sellers, and other leather-related businesses is the Leather Industries of America (LIA). The LIA offers its members and the general public technical, environmental, educational, statistical, and marketing services.

Despite numerous PETA attacks, the leather apparel industry is still a $14.5 billion global industry. As the popularity of leather clothing grows, the leather industry seeks new eco-friendly methods of processing leather. Although leather clothing goes through trend cycles, it is still a desirable commodity in the world of fashion in 2004.