Hometown Hero: Ari Soffer

This designer upgraded the marriage of rock n' roll with leather and took it to the next level.

Ask Ari Soffer what launched his line of leather pants, bags, and shirts, and he'll be completely honest with you -- his own fashionable needs.

"S.A. Leather first began around 1995," he explains of his company's roots. "At that time I was making leather & fur hand bags for my first company, which was called Jenari. I wanted a pair of leather pants, but I couldn't find a pair that fit me well, so I designed a pair myself."

But what helped launch S.A. Leather into the stratosphere was when Soffer wore those pants out to clubs every night, and wound up making some for friends. Then those friends started wearing their pants out to clubs, and Soffer found himself with more requests. It's like the old commercial says: they told two friends, and they told two friends, and they told two friends... before he knew it, S.A Leather became a fashion phenomenon.

It's not hard to see why. Soffer's leather pants boast not only the most rocking styles, but some are decorated with accoutrements like 24 karat gold buttons. Shirts mesh together a stylish but functional mentality, while the bags are high fashion enough to be haute coture, but with a discernable edge. If that's not enough, you can also accessorize your gear with leather cuff bracelets, wallets, and hardcore-but-beautiful jewelry.

"I wear what I make myself, so when I need a new bracelet, couch, sweater, bag, pair of jeans, wallet or any other accessory, I think of what I would use myself," Soffer says. "I produce a piece that I love and use it myself. Then I make a few more and sell them. If it isn't good enough for me, it isn't good enough for anybody else."

And those that make up the "anybody else" he's referring to are an illustrious Hollywood crew including Tommy Lee, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lionel Ritchie, Djimon Hounsou, Brooke Burke, Jada Pinket Smith and Jeremy Piven, just to name a few. But that doesn't mean that his target customer is only the rich and famous.

Says Soffer, "My line's irreverence and take-no-sh*t style appeals to chicks, rockers and celebs from deep within Los Angeles and all over -- people who demand perfection, and want to feel what it's like to have blood in their veins. I've produced pieces for people who can afford to buy, and people who cant afford it, but love it so much that they do anyway. I appreciate that type of customer the most. I wish I could give people my pieces all the time if I could afford to."

Soffer reports that everything he offers is popular, which is no surprise considering the attention to detail that goes into every piece. And those pieces are continually evolving with the times, with Soffer adding more and more to keep up with demand that circles the globe. But no matter how S.A. Leather evolves, one thing will remain constant: Soffer will never give up working with hardwoods, metals and -- of course -- leather.

"Leather can look both sexy on women, and tough on men – it has an aura about it," he says. "The feeling, the mood it creates, its smell and feel are all amazing characteristics of it. And one of my favorite yet most simple qualities about it is it can be cut and the edges can be left raw and unfolded. Other materials like denim will fray if the edges aren't overlocked. The look that raw edges give are a big part of my designs."

And considering the response to those designs, it's a safe bet we'll be seeing them for years to come.

S.A Leather can be found online at www.saleather.com, or at these fine retailers:
iBoutique: Boston, MA
Luomo Vogue: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Lisa Kline Men's: