Word: leathers
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Designers, in fact, now put suede and leather in the same category as silk, cotton, linen and wool, calling it a "fabric" and using it flexibly. (Suede, the roughened flesh side of leather, was first used in 1884 in Sweden for gloves. The French called them gants de Suède-gloves of Sweden.) Moreover, since the new ultrathin suedes and leathers "breathe" more easily, they are as comfortable on a summer evening as in winter. Calvin Klein, the leading evangelist of leather in the U.S., has increased the use of suede and leather for the past five years...
...most successful designers in leather is New Yorker Carol Horn, whose comfortable, stylish clothes are priced on the low end of the scale. Her suede T shirts sell for $210; her most expensive entry is a ruffled suede dress for $322. "People are taking to leather," she says, "because they're responding to something real, the way they respond to 100% wool...
Armani, part of whose spring collection, at least 15%, will be composed of leather pieces, has designed a series of jackets of all lengths. Says he: "Colors will be intense and surprising. There will be Bermudas, vests, shirts, suede pullovers worked with inlays of different colors inspired by knitwear...
...Leather also lends itself to fine detailing. Armani's creations for Italy's Mario Valentino print, stripe and weave leather to resurrect a rich Renaissance look. Bill Blass also uses a weave effect on some blouses, and Ralph Lauren has put ruffles on suede in delicate peasant blouses. Says he: "Feathery-light blouses that once were made of cotton can now be done in suede. And it can mix with anything-silk, a sweater, tweeds, linen or cotton." The new leather, made ideally from the South African hair sheep, comes in starbursts of colors: fire-engine...
David Trask, whose opulent The Leather Club boutique in Beverly Hills sells nothing but skins, points out that a well-chosen leather piece can be a pivotal garment. He explains: "Women can work with their old wardrobe by buying one pair of leather pants or a suede T shirt, and update their look for the next year...