File: Leather jacket, what type of leather to choose? #1

The use of leather dates back to the origins of humanity: it was the first material that humans used for clothing . But from ancient Egypt, leather became a noble material for making. And this is still the case today: whether in the major PAP brands or among the greatest luxury designers like Hermès, the leather garment or accessory is often the most beautiful, the most popular and... the most expensive. However, as you can imagine, as everywhere, we find random qualities of leather, the price of which is not always a good indicator .

How to see it more clearly? What leathers can we find and how to recognize them ? How to “measure” the quality of leather ? Which cut to choose for which use?

There is no question of pretending to have complete knowledge... but thanks to the many professionals who have enlightened me, you will find some elements of answers to the questions that arise about leather. Thanks to Patrick from "créa-cuir.com" and to the anonymous people from major luxury houses who were all kind enough to give me their time and their knowledge.

How is this file organized? Firstly, in the BG spirit, we start from the base: the different types of leather and tanning that exist. Then, we'll get to the heart of the matter: how to recognize good leather , some tips for finding your way around . Finally, we will end with a short guide to the cuts that we find regularly to help you make your choice.

TYPES OF LEATHER AND THE DIFFERENT STEPS FROM SHUTTING TO MANUFACTURING

Far be it from me to pile on boring technical words: the goal is, in line with the Bonne Gueule spirit, to convey the minimum required to make an informed choice.

LEATHER FAMILIES

There are as many types of leather as there are animal species with skin, from the ostrich to the eel. Without listing them all, here are the main families:

FURRY ANIMALS

• Lamb: the leather superstar. Often very soft and supple , it is a thin skin with an almost silky appearance, widely used to make clothing and certain accessories such as men's gloves.
• Veal: like lamb, it is supple but more resistant . A little rougher than its little friend, calfskin is used a lot for accessories (shoes, wallets, bags, etc.).
• Sheep: it can be worked while retaining its wool, which makes it a very warm material: it is then turned , that is to say that the garment is made with the wool on the inside and the skin on the inside. exterior (this is called a shearling ). When it is just a skin, it can be used in a similar way to lambskin: thin but very resistant .

• Goat: it is a resistant leather widely used for the manufacture of robust bags or accessories. We are starting to see it a little in ready-to-wear for its flexibility, because it is very thin.
• Cowhide: it is the leather of adult cattle (cow, beef, etc.). It is therefore stronger and more rigid than calfskin , but also less silky to the touch.
• The buffalo: In perfect coherence with the image we may have of the beast, its leather is rigid and very robust . It is often used in furniture or textiles for jackets, but it is not a material that allows you to create a close-fitting silhouette.
• Chamois, suede and antelope: Chamois is popular for shoes and jackets, often with an extremely soft feel . On the other hand, antelope is used less because it is very difficult to work with . Small clarification: although it is still part of the term of many sellers, suede is a protected species which is no longer used .

EXOTIC LEATHER

• Crocs: In ascending order of use, we find the gharial, the crocodile and the alligator. They undoubtedly represent the noblest and most expensive materials. They are solid, and each piece has a unique character due to the irregularity of the scales . We will rather use the belly for its flexibility.

• Snakes: anaconda, cobra but especially python are rare and sought-after materials . Used mainly in leather goods, we see more and more of them in high-end ready-to-wear (Lanvin SS13, or recurrently at Roberto Cavalli).

• Fish: yes, yes, for real! Fish leathers appear mainly in small leather goods : eel, salmon, shark or even shagreen (very expensive)…

Before closing this review of the main leather families, it seems relevant to consider a less glamorous aspect: their origin. The python does not exist in breeding and must be hunted, the gharial is threatened with extinction, breeding conditions are not always good... These rare and sought-after materials imply a trade that is more or less respectful of the well-being of the python. 'animal.

The French, Italian or Spanish origin guarantees that the beast has not undergone (too) violent treatment, on the other hand, be aware that medium/low-end leathers often come from Bangladesh or India and there… I will tell you Skip the details!

Note from Benoît: this is also why I encourage you not to buy a low-end leather jacket! We can criticize the use of fur, but the tanning of low-end leather is a real scourge, much more serious. Not to mention water pollution...

LEATHER WORK

Several stages finalize the work of the skins, because simply skinned, they are not yet leather.

Several terms will appear on the label. We speak of " full grain" when we keep all the layers of the skin, " flower" when we remove the upper layer, and finally " split leather" when we keep only the strongest lower layers , but also the least beautiful.

Once removed, the animal's skin is salted to remove water, but it remains a skin .

The river work will constitute a sort of washing of the skin in several stages : all remaining fur, grease and residue are removed.

Tanning is then the step which will “freeze” the life of the skin, and thus make it durable ( rot-proof ) and more flexible. The operation consists of bathing it in various substances: tannin . There are 2 types:

Mineral or chemical tanning can be done using various ingredients, such as aluminum, alum or chromium salts (chromium 6, etc.): effective and inexpensive, these treatments can however be toxic.

Vegetable tanning takes longer and is more expensive, but much less harmful. It is also interesting for excellent quality skins (like those used by Hermès), because it offers a more natural finish. It is a tanning process that allows the leather to age very nicely.

Retanning makes it possible to make the final correction to the skin in terms of touch.

From that moment on, we have real leather, almost ready to use! Final step before making the garment: finishing . This is where we give the skin its color, its appearance and its texture, its flexibility… A basic principle to remember: the fewer treatments there are, the more beautiful the skin is initially.

Dipped/aniline leather: reserved for the most beautiful skins without imperfections in full grain, this treatment involves “immersing” the leather in a bath, to tint it throughout. No protection to preserve the initial properties of the skin... This leather is undoubtedly the softest, but also the most fragile and often the most expensive : the slightest drop of water can become... dangerous.

The corrected or semi-aniline flower: naturally displaying certain imperfections, its surface layer is sanded to erase them . The material is therefore a little less beautiful than that which will have an aniline finish. It then receives a dye as well as a thin translucent layer.

Tumbled/grained leather: when the leather grain is regular, this treatment allows it to be accentuated. The grain is in fact inflated with steam, for a much more textured effect , which highlights bright colors like red, blue...

Pigmented leather: it receives one or more layers of opaque dyes which hide imperfections and make it more resistant . It is more homogeneous, and easier to waterproof... but less authentic, often with a glossy appearance! Hides that have this treatment are of lower quality, unless you want to give the leather a shiny appearance.

Patina : refers to the way the leather ages . Generally, it is the aniline/plunged leathers which age the best because the skin becomes less uniform, certain folds mark, and the color can also become accentuated or lighter depending on the friction... Basically, the patina testifies to the life of the leather and even adds value to the leather in a vintage spirit . Note that it will generally be more marked on light or brown leather, rather than on black leather.

Suede leathers: have this… velvet feel, so special! For this type of finish, the skin must be very beautiful from the start: imperfections cannot be corrected during tanning.

Suede leathers: the inner layer of the skin is sanded, giving it that peach skin feel. On the other hand, it is an extremely dirty leather, the maintenance of which can be expensive (article about leather maintenance here )...

Nubuck: it often has the same appearance as suede. The only difference is that the nubuck technique involves light sanding of the grain , i.e. the outer part of the skin.

Shearlings: bypass most of these tanning, retanning and finishing steps; because the goal is to keep the animal's fur on the inside of the garment , except for rare coating processes to give it a waxed appearance. These leathers are very warm, also have a velvet feel but are still less fragile. Many advantages for this skin (in addition to its very aesthetic appearance)!

Now you have the basic vocabulary to talk about leather! The next step ? Some simple tips to gauge skin quality!

Continuation of this article in 3 parts: Part 2 of the article - Part 3 of the article

A big piece, it must last over time.

So we use thick sheets from wool manufacturer Jules Tournier, a 150-year-old Living Heritage Company located in Tarn, but also the latest textile innovations from technical weavers Schoeller, SympaTex and Polartec.

And that's not all: Kuroki selvedge denim jacket, Italian lamb jackets... we admit, we had fun!