Look of the Week: The surprising — and sticky — material taking over summer

By Leah Dolan, CNN

(CNN) — As the sun baked down on New York City on Tuesday, warming the concrete jungle to temperatures upwards of 80 degrees, actor and “Longlegs” star Maika Monroe stepped out in a surprising textile: Patent sheep leather.

Similarly, last week, Monroe arrived at the LA premiere of the 1990s-inspired serial killer thriller dressed in a Courrèges leather sarong and matching bra. Both outfits seemed like a bold choice for what is shaping up to be a sweltering summer across many parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

But Monroe isn’t alone in choosing this unseasonal material. Despite it being July, Mia Goth — another veritable scream queen — opted for a leather corseted midi dress from Versace for her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this month. And at the premiere of “MaXXXine” in LA, Goth wore an edgy Ludovic de saint Sernin halter-neck dress — the main event being her peek-a-boo leather bralet.

You don’t have to be a horror film starlet to pull off a summer leather look, either. On July 11, Kate Hudson was snapped in Manhattan’s Soho in a sultry pair of lace-up leather pants; while across the pond, British radio and TV presenter Vick Hope arrived at Wimbledon in a full burgundy leather vest, shorts and a collarless leather overcoat (granted, London’s weather has been a little more accommodating to leather this summer). Rita Ora — who has, it seems, committed to exclusively wearing scarlet in promotion of her new film “Descents: The Rise of Red” — wore not one, but two entirely leather outfits around New York.

At what point did we start to see the off-season potential of leather? Once a firm staple of winter wardrobes, the material is seemingly summer’s hottest trend. It began with Bottega Veneta, the Italian fashion house largely credited with pushing the boundary of the textile — symbolically and literally. In September 2022, creative director Matthieu Blazy sent a stream of leather optical illusions down the Fall-Winter runway. Since then, we’ve had blue jeans, plaid shirts and woven beach bags rendered in meticulous detail, redefining what leather could be.

Or could it be a case of a trickle-down effect from our reigning pop stars? Dua Lipa opened her Glastonbury Festival headliner set in a custom Chrome Hearts leather mini-dress; while Rosalía — also known to her fleet of fans as Motomami — wore a pair of high-shine leather pants for her Coachella set in Palm Springs. Charli XCX, creator of the unequivocal album of the summer, “Brat,” has spoken openly about her love for scuffed-up YSL leather coats, and is often spotted off-duty donning a variety of biker jackets.

Wherever the trend has come from, one thing is for certain: A leather jacket is no longer just for Christmas, but all year round.

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