AW 23-24 Style Focus: Nothing But Leather! The - Leather - Men's fashion - Women's fashion - Fabrics - Leather - Accessories
For the Autumn-Winter 2023-24 season, it’s all about throwing on some skin. Designers rely on the material’s sensoriality to offer a more sober conception of luxury and head-to-toe silhouettes in leather. A stylistic feat made possible by the latest developments of exhibitors who explore new territories of expression to appeal to the apparel market. Iconic leather goods revisited through the prism of suppleness and lightness are integrated into ready-to-wear collections, and shearlings are inspired by sumptuous furs.
Total Looks in Leather
The first silhouette marks the intersection of chic and sport with looks entirely in leather and skins. Key pieces are coats and jackets that enhance the exploration of shearlings.
The Total look leather selection
Skins as Light as Air
This season, shearlings imitate furs, taking on all kinds of whimsical aspects on fleeces that are as light as they are soft. Coats and jackets are inspired by the world of leisure, flourishing with a fullness that requires refined and supple skins. Teddys are revisited in lamb or sheep skins with surface embellishments reprising animal or geometric motifs. Shaving creates moiré effects reminiscent of astrakhan or the coats of wild animals such as tigers or leopards. Accents in contrasting colors or shine rival with traditional prints. Sweatshirts with wide, zipped necklines alternate with double-face shearlings. Wild, ethereal fox fur dallies with the sheep’s curly, dense hide.
The Deliberate Flaws leather selection
Deliberate Flaws
Chic tops are paired with slouchy pants that make a 100% leather look more casual. Fluid skins are used for extra-long, loose trackpants. These are embellished with cinched belts, large pockets and marked pleats and are accompanied by rough aspects. Surfaces feature worn or crumpled effects, recalling pull-ups, with faded colorations. Visuals evoke a certain minerality in embossed or bleached nubucks evoking plush finishes. Glossing and crackling imitate the dryness and irregularity of the Earth’s surfaces.
The Somber Metallica leather selection
Somber Metallica
Accessories complete a look of apparent frugality with a dash of flashiness. Silver, a true highlight of the season, reveals a wide range of expressions. Bags feature soft shapes — maxi bags, for example — and sophistication thanks to leathers that oscillate between lead, gunmetal and pewter hues. Textures are embossed and have crumpled aspects as well as chiseled, perforated, or printed finishes with geometric patterns that lend rhythm to the silhouette.
Leather Goods Inspiration
For Autumn-Winter 23-24, ready-to-wear takes on the attributes of leather goods. Leather exhibitors draw on the know-how of iconic leather goods manufacturers, adapting their skills to the construction of the garments. This search for authenticity translates into visible grains, cultivated shine and glazed patinas, as well as lighter weights. The volumes of this architectural silhouette seek a balance between fluidity for certain pieces and precision for others.
The "second skin" leather selection
Second Skin
Lightened to the extreme, leathers are projected onto dresses and skirts designed to be worn against the skin. Sensoriality is enhanced by the use of warm colors in honey and chocolate tones. Fluid skins also allow for plays on pleats and ruffles that are revealed through movement. Skirts and pants feature crisp-looking surface embellishments. Lambskin or stretch calfskin leathers come alive with subtle shiny decorations. Refined to the extreme, these recall silk and may be used for ultra-sensual blouses and dresses.
The Architectural Volumes leather selection
Architectural Volumes
To counterbalance the silhouette, fluidity mingles with more structured garments. Cuts are sharper thanks to nappa leathers that have a smooth surface and a waxed hand. Skins present a firmness of hand and are decorated with animalistic embossing, notably faux crocodile, which is usually reserved to handbags. Pieces in this wardrobe adopt the same kinds of construction as bags: they are seamless and designed around simplified patterns and assembled panels. This technique is integrated into an eco-design approach, establishing an almost architectural aesthetic. Clean edges and edge-to-edge pockets are used on dresses and wrap-around skirts, as well as on jackets and coats in order to create exceptional pieces. T-shirts and slim-fit pants in thick jersey are superimposed and integrated into the silhouette to evoke a cubist work composed of panels of color.
The Essential Accessories leather selection
Essential Accessories
In a wardrobe built of streamlined leather pieces, accessories add the right touch of impertinence. A version of subtle, sober luxury in which silver plays (once again) a predominant role. Here, it offers a mirror effect with sharp, beveled edges and changing reflections. Buttons placed with precision and determination are so many touches that inevitably draw the eye without an ounce of bling or glitz.
Mid-calf lace-up boots reiterate a penchant for structured lines. Vertiginous heels and square toes are favored in silver leathers with a look of brushed steel, evoking metal pipes on a contemporary building.
Read other Style Focus analyses for the season, as well as our trend reports on leather and fur.