Here is, in my opinion, the most exciting fashion news of the season — leather trousers are back. I mean right there in the mix, straddling a couple of big trends, rather than loitering in the shadows in the recording studio, or at the back of Nancy Dell’Olio’s wardrobe.

If goth is your bag, then black leather pants are indispensable. And if folk is more your style, then leather leggings will kick the look right into autumn/ winter 2008. Or maybe you’ll be wearing yours with a tuxedo, like Kate Moss did at the Costume Institute Gala back in 2006 (whatever Kate does, we’re doing it two years later). Think of them as hard-wearing, wipe-clean, all-weather leggings, only with more containment.

Are you kidding? I hear you say. Leather trousers?

The everyday wear of magicians’ wives, Cher and Michael Flatley? The rock’n’roll cliché that looks about as fresh as Keith Richards’s skull bandana? What’s to like? To which I reply, this autumn’s skinny leather trousers are a different breed: tighter, leaner, sleeker and, given the right conditions, undeniably sexy.

True, they are not for everyone, but that has to be a good thing in these fashion-saturated times. (I refuse to put an age limit on them, because Chrissie Hynde has been working LTs very nicely for several decades.) Let’s just say LTs require legs and, most of all, attitude — good girls need not apply. Note: we are not talking about those varnished bootleg numbers with the seam above the knee that non-doms and Joanna Trollope are wont to wear. Think Agyness Deyn, Kate, the girl in the Topshop ads — tight, tight, tight and not remotely smug.

There are a few rules. Don’t wear them with a second-skin top or you will look like Catwoman’s stunt double, and steer clear of other rock’n’roll clichés, such as rock-band T-shirts and waistcoats. Footwear is crucial and mustn’t be cute or vampy (you can wear heels, but they have to have an equivalent amount of fashion edge). Similarly, if you are wearing leather pants and biker boots, make sure the rest of your look is feminine/chic or you will be mistaken for a Slipknot roadie. And don’t be tempted to wear tights underneath (Anita Pallenberg was once spotted at a gig with her Wolfords riding up over her waistband — a heart-sinking moment).

This is a look I will be observing from the sidelines, and I can’t wait. Don’t you just love a trend that requires more than a size 6 body and a stylist?

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