Paul Stag
The fastest area of growth in the leather fetish world is now in the market of faux or vegan leather. Obviously leathermen are an intelligent and forward-thinking bunch and we are all animal lovers so of course have had to wrestle with the dilemma that our favourite gear to wear and be seen in is made from animal skin……an issue which rubber guys and sportswear guys are able to avoid. Up until recently there has been no alternative to wearing leather made from the hide of a farm animal most commonly cowhide. Several forward-thinking fetish retailers lead by the Dutch online gay kink giant MR Riegillio have been aware of this and now offer extensive lines of gear in Vegan leather.
There is a range of materials that can be used to make vegan leather including synthetics like plastic and also natural materials such as cork, kelp or pineapple leaves. The most commonly used synthetic materials for synthetic leathers are polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethane (PU), which are plastic based materials but made and styled to look like leather. They all fall under the banner of names which we will have to get used to hearing in the future – fake leather, faux leather, vegan leather and “pleather” which comes of course from the term plastic leather.
PROS & CONS
There are Pros and cons with it which are very basically as follows.
1 As it is easier to produce it is cheaper than traditional leather.
2 It is usually a lot thinner and lightweight which makes it possibly more comfortable to wear especially in hot dark rooms. This also makes it more pliable to use in manufacture and therefore the designs and styles tend to be more variable and artistic than with traditional leather which modern kinksters seem to prefer as we move away from the standard Black leather uniforms and Tom Of Finland/Wild Ones Motorcylce look.
3 Vegan leather by definition is friendly to animals.
The main Con is that although it breathes like leather it does not have that infamous leather smell which as yet has not been replicated by manufacturers.
MR Riegillio who are the biggest new arrival in the fetish retailer market of the last 5 years are not surprisingly leading the way in providing what the more politically correct/environmentally conscious and climate aware 21st century leatherman may want in his play wardrobe. The company currently have Eight of their famous striped tracksuits for sale in their ‘MR’ Vegan Leather Range although of course many guys just purchase either the jackets or trousers as separate items as is their desire (The full tracksuits are all about 100 Euros). This is what the company say about the gear:
“You’re young, hung, and full of cum but how do you combine your fetish nature with your animal-loving side? It’s time to get closer in our view, almost skin-to-skin so a guy can feel your body heat. MR Riegillio tracksuits all have our famous coloured Stripes and from the MR Vegan Collection it is made from high-quality, artificial leather that looks and feels great. It’s also easy to maintain! You’re going to love how good vegan leather feels.The jacket features ribbed cuffs, a hoodie and it has the MR. signature on the left chest. Please note that due to the thickness of the artificial leather you will see some wrinkles in the material. The good thing about this in our view is this makes the product absolutely unique!.
MAINTENANCE
One of the big differences between traditional leather and vegan leather comes in the form of how you maintain them. Basically, Vegan gear is easier to keep clean with just a wet towel or handwash and for longevity some protection applied afterwards – they are also easier to repair seamlessly if you get an unfortunate rip in your suit. MR. Riegillio also sell a special faux leather cleaner called Gloss for under 15 Euros.
We spoke to several Vegan leather wearers and they simply love its feel, its artistic and stylish look, it’s close fit, affordability and they simply adore the knowledge that they know no animals were harmed in the making of their horny gear. Mr Leather UK 2019 ‘Buster’ famously wore one of the MR vegan suits to Folsom Berlin that year as part of his entire ‘Vegan Day’ for publicity. Altogether this is a great idea for all modern thinking Leathermen who are now aware of their ‘footprints’ and want to do something about it as they now have choices and so do you….is it time you went vegan at least in what you wear?
