Images associated with leather range from the foul-smelling pelts that protected prehistoric cave dwellers from the elements to leather garments chiseled as finely as precious gems by such designers as Jean-Paul Gaultier and John Galliano. As a living material that's sculpted into unique relief by the body's own habits, leather has metamorphosed into countless styles throughout the 20th century, from the tough virility of the biker fraternity to fetishistic corselets that symbolize unabashed luxury or a return to the rustic. Leather is a second skin that reveals our identity, defies the seasons and stays with us for years, even across generations. Leather bears witness to the turmoils of a century torn between the frantic quest for progress and longing for the values of humanity. At a time when our beliefs in progress are being seriously undermined by terrorist attacks and medical or financial scandals, high-tech materials have gone back to the athletics track whil leather in its many different guises has come to embody the fashion of the third millennium as a symbol of authenticity and a return to basic values.