Why are more and more people wearing leather jackets in the office?

Read Time:8 Minute, 6 Second

Source: 36Kr

Leather jackets are back in fashion: celebrities are promoting brands and diverse outfits are attracting heated discussions

Fashion is a cycle, and leather jackets are back.

Recently, “Lei Jun’s leather jacket” at Xiaomi’s press conference became a hot topic, causing niche brands such as Dickinson and Satchi to sell out of “Lei Jun’s same style” leather jackets.

Coincidentally, at the Loewe event in February, Yang Mi also attracted a lot of attention with her brown leather jacket, and the related topic received over 10,000 interactions.

In various recent fashion events, leather jackets are also the “darling” of the fashion circle.

At the “Female Influence Night” event held by “Marie Claire”, Yang Mi, Xin Zhilei, Yang Zi, and Liu Shishi all appeared in leather jackets, which could be called a “large-scale leather jacket promotion event.”

In the 2025 Spring/Summer and 2025 Fall/Winter fashion weeks, leather jackets have become the highlight of major brands’ shows. From the popular Miu Miu and Loewe, to the top luxury brands Hermès and YSL, to the light luxury or designer brands Coach, Toteme, and Victoria Beckham, leather jackets have become the core of showing the brand’s attitude.

The last time leather jackets were so popular was ten years ago. Jeon Ji-hyun made motorcycle leather jackets popular in the hit drama My Love from the Star. For a time, from first-line stars to urban white-collar workers to college students, it is not an exaggeration to say that “everyone is Cheon Song-yi”.

So, what made this wave of leather jackets so popular?

Leather jackets, are they fashionable again?

Leather jackets are back in fashion, and there are early signs of this on social media platforms. Searching for “leather jackets” on Xiaohongshu and sorting by likes, 16 of the top 20 notes were published in the past six months.

But don’t rush to dig out that black motorcycle leather jacket with diagonal zipper and shoulder pads that has been hidden in the bottom of your closet – this wave of popular leather jackets is not the “crazy and cool style” of the past.

Instead, it’s about being relaxed and able to go to work; being low-key and going crazy calmly.

For example, the brown suede jacket on the 2025 spring and summer show of Miu Miu, the top fashion brand, has the biggest feature of “low-key rebellion”. The style is short and slim; the decoration does not use rivets, tassels or exaggerated metal elements, but simple zippers; the material used is rough suede, showing unobtrusive coolness through the collision of styles.

The “low-key” is there, and the “rebellious” lies in the matching. The Miu Miu leather jacket is paired with its signature “college blue” shirt, and the lower body is a thick belt, a pencil-patterned leather skirt of the same color, ballet-style socks and fish-mouth high heels. The mix and match of various styles fully demonstrates the contrasting aesthetics of its show theme “Salt Looks Like Sugar”.

If Miu Miu’s style is too imaginative, then the American retro leather jackets in Coach’s 2025 autumn and winter series are all about “pragmatism”.

The short and loose pilot jacket has a narrow shoulder and neat cut, which is relaxed and capable. The material is caramel/brown waxed leather, with a distressed treatment, which has a unique American retro texture. Wearing a short washed T-shirt and low-waist loose overalls inside, it is a good balance between the formality of the leather jacket and the relaxed feeling of the street, and it is easy to wear with attitude.

In addition to low-key and loose, the third popular trend of leather jackets this year is leather jackets. The reason why it is called “jacket” instead of “leather jacket” is that it is completely different from traditional leather jackets in terms of style, material and color matching. Leather jackets are usually made of softer and more comfortable leather materials, and the style is also looser and more casual.

For example, the “Balloon Jacket” in Loewe’s 2025 Spring/Summer collection has become a “new favorite” for many celebrities such as Liu Wen due to its high-quality texture and unconventional style.

The hem of this jacket is designed with a drawstring, which makes the upper body straight, light and full of “air feeling” after tightening. The shoulders are cut with narrow shoulders, which is capable and slim. The short design reveals the waistline and highlights the waist-to-hip ratio. The collar is a small lapel that is “straight”, which is stress-free whether it is daily wear or work occasions.

In terms of material, Loewe’s “Balloon Jacket” uses the same Nappa lambskin as its handbags, which has a delicate and light texture and a full sense of old money texture.

Why are young people starting to wear leather jackets again?

If the role of a fashion show is to showcase the latest trends in the fashion circle, then the role of fashion influencers on social networks is to “implement” these trends.

From the popular notes on leather jackets on Xiaohongshu, we can see that the most prominent advantage of leather jackets this season is three words: easy to match. Leather jackets can match all the popular styles in the past six months.

For example, the Y2K style that Generation Z loves the most, and its representative, Jennie, a member of the Korean girl group, is a walking “leather jacket planting machine”.

Judging from Jennie’s popular leather jacket outfit, to wear Jennie’s Y2K style, the leather jacket must be short, and the inner wear must be even shorter and slim, showing the waistline. Pair it with suit wide-leg pants, or a short skirt, ballet-style socks, and Adidas taekwondo shoes, and the dark sweet and cool style will come.

Supermodel Hailey wore leather jackets in an American retro style. The core of the American retro style is a loose-fitting pilot jacket-style leather jacket on the upper body, paired with loose trousers on the lower body, which can be jeans or overalls. Whether black, white or washed blue, you can easily create a casual street style. Paired with colorful Dexter shoes, it is more lively and fashionable.

The “barn-style” dad leather jacket that was popular last year can also be worn in a sports mix-and-match style. The simple barn-style leather jacket, paired with Adidas three-stripe sports pants and Onitsuka Tiger thin-soled shoes, fully interprets the combination of fashion and sports. In addition, sports shorts, a peaked cap, a bun close to the scalp, sunglasses, and gray “old man shoes” are all core elements of a sports mix-and-match leather jacket.

Another “natural” way to match leather jackets this year is with a “white skirt”. Whether it is a pure white bud skirt, a preppy white pleated skirt, or a cute white lace skirt, white weakens the “aggressiveness” of leather jackets, and it can be matched with various styles of leather jackets without any mistakes, and it is full of sweetness and coolness.

How long will leather jackets remain popular?

From this year’s popular leather jacket styles to leather jacket outfits, we can see a change: the “personality” of leather jackets is changing.

Similar to Martin boots, leather jackets represent different cultural symbols in different eras and regions.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, leather jackets were used as uniforms in the military and aviation fields due to their durability and practicality. During World War I and World War II, leather jackets worn by pilots became a symbol of heroism. Later, they became popular among motorcyclists.

In the 1950s, in rock music culture, leather jackets were synonymous with rebellion and freedom. The Beatles made leather jackets a symbol of popular culture.

In the 1970s and 1980s, designers began to include leather jackets in the category of high fashion. Brands such as YSL began to launch leather jacket designs in various styles.

In the 1990s, leather jackets became popular in the Chinese market. When the post-1990s were young, if their parents had a Caesar leather jacket or a Septwolves leather jacket with a fur collar, it was a symbol of success and wealth.

Similarly, when those born in the 1990s just entered society, their first “battle suit” was the same black leather motorcycle jacket worn by Jun Ji-hyun in “My Love from the Star”.

Until now, leather jackets still play an important role in “elite culture”. From “Silicon Valley veteran” Huang Renxun, to “tech upstart” Lei Jun, to Musk and Zhang Chaoyang… leather jackets have become an elite label of “global CEO unified certification”.

But for Generation Z, the “identity” of leather jackets has changed.

In the past, leather jackets represented status, had a strong presence and were unique. They had requirements for the wearer’s temperament, figure, and matching, and were a typical example of “clothes that wear people.”

Now, from catwalks to outfits, we can see that leather jackets are becoming a supporting role in dressing style. Young people wear leather jackets because they are more individual and versatile, and wearing leather jackets returns to the idea of ”people wearing clothes.”

Moreover, the “threshold” for buying leather jackets has become lower and lower.

In the 1990s, an imported Caesar cost 4,500 yuan, and the average monthly salary at the time was about 450 yuan. Now, when searching for “leather clothing” on e-commerce platforms, the prices of professional leather/fur brands, from “Lei Jun’s same style” Dikoni to Internet celebrity brands Yamashita Yousong, MSBEAST Miss Beast, and Fu Zhien, are mostly in the range of 2,000 to 3,000 yuan.