Leather 101

All about STREGA leather.

Most brands won't tell you what their leather actually is. We will. Here's exactly what goes into every STREGA jacket — and why it's built to keep.

Full-grain leather, natural surface detail
01 — Full-grain, not top-grain

The honest top of the grain hierarchy.

Full-grain keeps the skin's natural surface fully intact — the strongest, longest-wearing grade, and the only one that earns a real patina. It sits above top-grain (sanded smooth and finished over), genuine, and bonded. It's the hardest leather to use, because it can't hide a thing — so most jackets are quietly corrected top-grain. We use full-grain, and we say so.

Read the guide
Vegetable-tanned leather, close detail
02 — Vegetable-tanned, not chrome

Tanned the slow way, so it ages instead of wearing out.

Tanning is how a raw skin becomes lasting leather. The fast way — chrome — is cheap, uniform, and mostly stays as it started. We use the slow way: natural tannins from bark and plant, weeks not days. It darkens, softens and deepens with wear. A chrome jacket looks the same in year five; ours looks like yours.

Read the guide
Full-grain lambskin, worn
03 — Lambskin, the right skin

The strength of full-grain, on a skin built to move.

We make jackets from full-grain lambskin — lighter and softer than cowhide, supple from the first wear, but with the full natural grain still intact. (Lambskin is a skin, not a hide; the distinction matters.) You get the durability and the patina of full-grain on a leather that drapes, moves and stays comfortable for hours.

How it should fit
In our own units
04 — Sourced right, made right

Responsible leather is a chain, not a label.

Our skins come from LWG-certified suppliers; our jackets are cut and finished in a BSCI-certified production facility. Behind it is a family that has worked in leather for a century — trading, then tanning, then building the manufacturing units that make jackets for labels around the world. STREGA is what we make for ourselves.

The House

We know leather the long way.

The Journal

Go deeper.

Material

Top-grain vs full-grain leather

The grain hierarchy, explained without the marketing — and why the best leather is full-grain.

Read
Material

Vegetable-tanned leather: why it matters

The slow way of turning skin into leather — and why it ages better than the fast way.

Read
Fit

How a leather jacket should fit

Where it should sit at the shoulder, sleeve and hem — and why it should fit snug on day one.

Read
Style

Café racer vs biker jacket

Two of the most confused styles, told apart by cut, collar and hardware.

Read
Care

How to care for a leather jacket

Real care is mostly restraint: wipe it down, keep it off heat, and wear it.

Read
FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is full-grain leather better than top-grain?
For a jacket you intend to keep, yes. Full-grain uses the entire top layer of the skin with its natural grain intact, so it keeps the fibre strength that makes leather last and develop a patina; top-grain is sanded and buffed to remove surface marks, which gives a more uniform look but trades away durability and the way the leather ages into something better. STREGA uses full-grain only.
What is vegetable-tanned leather, and why does it matter?
Vegetable tanning is a slower method that uses natural plant tannins rather than chrome salts to turn skin into leather. It matters because it produces a firmer, more characterful leather that develops a richer patina over time and ages with wear instead of breaking down. It takes longer and costs more than conventional tanning, which is why most fast-fashion leather isn't made this way.
Is lambskin leather durable?
Yes, when it's full-grain and well made. Lambskin is lighter and softer than cowhide, with a finer grain that drapes closer to the body — and because STREGA uses the full-grain top layer rather than a sanded split, it keeps the fibre strength that holds up to real wear. It's a different kind of durability than thick rugged hide: supple, and built to be worn often.
How do I care for a leather jacket?
Less than people think. Wipe it with a dry or barely damp cloth to keep it clean, let it dry naturally and away from direct heat if it gets wet, and store it on a wide hanger with room to breathe. Don't over-condition — full-grain leather has its own oils, so occasional light conditioning is enough; frequent heavy treatments do more harm than good. Worn regularly, the leather stays supple on its own.
Is STREGA leather genuine, real leather?
Yes — every STREGA jacket is made from genuine full-grain vegetable-tanned lambskin, the highest grade of real leather. The leather comes from LWG-certified suppliers (the Leather Working Group's environmental standard for tanneries), and each jacket is cut and finished in a BSCI-certified workshop, which audits fair and safe working conditions. "Genuine leather" on a label often signals a lower-grade split; STREGA uses the full-grain top layer.

The leather you keep.