Humans have been wearing clothes and ornamentation made of leather for tens of thousands of years – skins and furs were among the earliest types of clothing, before weaving or even felting. Although leather can come from many different animals, cow hides make up about 65% of the world’s leather products right now. This is largely due to the leather industry’s link to the beef and dairy industries: hides are a by-product or co-product of these farming activities. Only rarely are cows, or any other animal, farmed specifically for their hides; it simply takes too long to produce, with most cows reaching full size at around two years of age.

In recent decades, animal rights and environmental activists have raised concerns about the production and use of leather. Hides need to be tanned before they can be utilised as clothing, and the tanning process releases pollutants into the air and water, as well as producing a lot of wastewater. In addition, the treatment of commercially-farmed animals is frequently under scrutiny, with claims of cruelty and sometimes shocking images released.

Various faux leathers have been in use over the last century, however most of them contain plastics and rely on fossil fuels for their production, making them an unsustainable option.

Several companies are working on methods of creating a leather substitute that is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Some methods involve lab-grown skin cells, others utilise microorganisms, and some use mushrooms. These companies are aiming to produce something that looks, feels, smells, and behaves as much like real leather as possible, without generating excessive pollutants or causing harm.

Whatever the future of leather may be, the past is full of it, and we’ve got a wide variety of historic examples on display here in the Loel Thomson Costume Collection right now, so come and check out some skin-deep beauty."