The designs of skirts have varied between skirts measuring over 3 meters in diameter at the bottom worn by upper-class women in the medieval times to the extremely short mini-skirts of the 1960's. The origin of leather skirts cannot be determined, though early estimates suggest the inspiration of these designs were the early Roman leather skirt worn by warriors to a battle. The idea was the rugged protection offered by leather in a battle was unmatched to any clothing except for bulky metal armor.

Leather skirts, as part of leather garments, were more prominent in fashion after Marlon Brando featured a black leather jacket over denim jeans in the movie, 'Wild One'. Leather garments are often associated to a personality with an enormous air of defiance; they depict the unabashed attitude of women in modern times.

Examples of such designs include the infamous 'Spank skirt', tightly fitting onto the wearer, made of leather or latex termed to be fetishistic materials. Most leather skirts are either manufactured from kid skin (hide of a young goat) or pig suede leather. Another different hide used is the Nappa Leather created from lamb skin. It is as soft as silk, comfortable and lighter in weight than other leather types. Famous Italian brands such as Piero Tucci, Armani, Borbonese, Versace, Moschino, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren Polo among others manufacture and sell leatherwear such as leather jackets and skirts. Noted designers such as Hugo Boss, Gucci, Laura Biagiotti and Prada understand and weave the right styles of fashion into our lives.