More and more people are fascinated by exotic leathers. First, crocodile and alligator leather has came into the mainstream, followed by stingray, snakeskin and ostrich leather. Further down the line there are such exotic skins as sharkskin, salmon and eel leather and even lizard, carp and toad leather. Exotic leathers are used by the best fashion houses like Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton to produce luxury, unique items to suite refined tastes of those who can afford them. There are used for boots and shoes, wallets and purses, handbags and briefcases, belt, straps and so on. In this article we explore the most popular of them and also some of the very uncommon, unique exotic leathers that are on the market today. Some of these leathers and skins are difficult to find in your own country and the internet is by far the most accessible source of them. Because of strict international regulations, almost all of these leathers come from animal farms or from species not endangered in the wild.
Crocodile and Alligator leathers.
With their distinctive natural scales, folds and ridges crocodile and alligator leathers are tough and are among the most durable leathers in the world. Each product will always have unique texture and pattern which makes every item different from another. Crocodile and alligator leather products have been produced for hundreds of years and they enjoy huge popularity among consumers around the world. It is used in a vast array of products and the higher quality skins are sold to the fashion houses of Europe, the US and Japan for very large sums of money. Exotic leather from the crocodile or alligator belly consists usually of flat scales and is quite flexible, while backbone leather is more rigid and hard tin touch. The leather generally doesn't come cheap, which only adds to its allure and appeal. Crocodile and alligator leather bots, shoes, handbags, wallets, purses, briefcases, belts and a multitude of other products are highly sought after. Once bought, and properly looked after, they will last the owner a lifetime, making its price fully justified. Most crocodile and alligator leathers come from crocodile and alligator farms popular in United States, Australia and Thailand. The crocodile are farmed both for their valuable skin and their great meat, which taste can is best described as something between fish and chicken.
Stingray leather
 Beautifully exotic, with a texture of small, round, rock hard pearls, it’s probably the most fascinating leather in the world. It has a texture which feels wonderful to run your fingers over. Stingray leather has been coveted by artisan s for millennia. Peoples from the Egyptians to Japanese Samurai have fashioned stingray leather into garments and other items. Due to it unusual strength and beauty, Samurai used it for body armor and sword handles. All the tiny pearls of stingray leather are grown with their roots into the bottom layer of the leather, and you can neither cut the leather with the knife, nor tear it apart. The scales also protect it from fire damage. The natural color of stingray leather is dark green which can be re-colored and polished to produce a variety of designs and patterns for a large number of fashion products. By many, it’s considered the most durable leather in the world and the briefcases, wallets and purses will often serve their owners for the lifetime. Stingray is poisonous fish. Recently, in an unfortunate accident, Steve Irwin, “the crocodile hunter” was stabbed to death by a large stingray fish. Stingrays are not endangered species.
Snakeskin leather.
 The sea snakes are very venomous and can grow up to 47” (120cm). Their bite is usually lethal to humans, and there is not known antidote for their venom. They live in warm tropical waters, feeding mostly on fish, from the barrier reef in Australia to the south Asian seas, up to India on one side and Japan on other. Their beautiful skin is delicate, soft and flexible, with distinctive clear pattern of hexagon scales. It’s easily tanned to and dyed to create a myriad of different colors and shades. Sea snake are not endangered species, but most of their skins come nowadays from snake farms, as it’s much easier to farm them than catch them in the wild. Snakeskin is quite thin skin and it's much softer than other exotic leathers, therefore the final products made of snakeskin can be much more sophisticated in design.
Sharkskin's leather
Sharkskin leather is becoming more and more popular due to its unique beauty and versatility as a material to be worked into exotic and unique products. However, its popularity is probably more largely due to our own fascination with a creature that sits above us in the food chain (when we're in the water at l east). Ever since Spielberg's Jaws was released we have been intrigued yet terrified of these apex hunters making our attraction to products made from these mysterious creatures all the more strong. Generally, three sharks are used for their leather; the short fin mako, the sandbar shark and the most fearsome of the three, the tiger shark. The short fin mako is the fastest of all sharks and is able to move at frightening speeds and to leap out of the water. They are aggressive sharks responsible for unprovoked attacks on people in the water and boats on the surface. Thankfully they are mostly found out at the sea, but they do travel inshore in search of food. The sandbar shark is found both inshore and offshore and is regularly sighted in bays, river mouths (estuaries) and in harbors. Naturally, as its name would suggest, you should also be on the lookout for these beasts near sandbars, in and around the surf zone. The most aggressive of the three is the tiger shark found on continental and insular shelves, in river estuaries and in coral atolls and lagoons. The tiger shark is so called because of the color and pattern of its skin which makes it even more sought after as leather to make into highly attractive fashion items and accessories. Exotic sharkskin is very tough and durable making it particularly favored in the production of shoes, boots, belts and handbags. Sharkskin leather has an attractive grain that is similar to crocodile leather but without the folds and ridges.
Ostrich leather
Ostrich leather is much sought after as it is one of the toughest and most pliable of all exotic skins. Native to the African Savannahs but now found in over 50 countries, Ostriches are very successfully farmed in South Africa and Thailand. The South African city of Durban is known as the feather capital of the world, earning its reputation from having the greatest concentration of Ostrich farms in the world. Originally highly desired for their beautiful feathers that graced many a high society ladies’ hats in the 19th century, they are now renowned for their beautiful leather. The reason for it elegant beauty is its exquisite pattern of sockets, which is where the feathers were attached to the skin. They are called quill marks. Because of its strength, durability and beauty, Ostrich leather is used to make a wide variety of products from belts to boots, handbags, wallets and purses. As with crocodiles, ostrich leather is only taken from farmed animals, with their tasty and popular meat landing on the tables of many fancy restaurants in the world.
Eel skin leather
Eel skin is another exotic skin used for luxury fashion items and accessories. It is highly prized for its beauty. It’s very smooth in touch  and has elegant horizontal pin-stripe like patterns. It is more fragile and delicate than such hides as cowhide, sharkskin, crocodile or stingray leathers, but it is its suppleness and soft finish that makes it increasingly more popular, particularly in the Far East. Making exotic and beautiful products from eel skin begins with its processing. Once the skin has been removed, all the natural fats and oils are gleaned from it. Preparing the leather continues with it being dried, cut and pressed, then it is assembled with separate linings and other material according to the design of the fashion accessory it is being made into. The eels, or inshore hagfish as they are also known, are found in South Korea, China and Japan. Eel meat is more than edible; it’s considered delicacy all around the world, especially in Japan. According to Greek mythology, exotic eel leather brings good luck and good health. There is a myth that eel leather comes from an electric eel, and that it can damage ATM put into eel leather wallet. Don’t worry; it will not destroy the magnetic strap!
Salmon leather.
 Many people love a wonderful taste of salmon but not so many are aware that salmon skin is being used as a material for fashion accessories, much in the same way as stingray or eel skin. Its scaly look and feel is very similar to that of sea snakes. Salmon skin comes from salmon farmed in Canada, Scotland and Norway amongst others. Before it used to be a waste product, but now, due to it softness and beauty, it’s used fro wallets, handbags, briefcases and other items. Salmon skins greatest quality is that it has a memory effect: When it gets wetted and dried after, it comes to the previous shape, meaning it doesn't permanently deform as other leathers. Salmon is becoming very popular in making distinctive bikinis, due to its tolerance to water. A very natural quality!
Chicken leather.
Farmed since time began for their eggs and meat, one Australian inventor has finally brought to the worlds attention a third use for chickens, which is refining their skin so it can be used to make attractive chicken leather products such as gloves, watch straps, steering wheel and mobile phone covers, etc. Once processed chicken leather has a beautiful feel and grain, which is thanks to the chicken's feathers, or at least where they were! The feathers follicles are distributed in tracts giving chicken leather a beautiful to the eye and touch finish. Chicken leather products are an ever-expanding market largely due to the huge worldwide supply of chickens. Chicken skin was never really a waste product but the refinement of chicken skin into leather increases the potential values of chickens. Before going through the tannin process the skin is shaved on both sides, which could make for an interesting summer job.
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