Leather has been worn over the centuries by men for protection and as uniforms for hundreds of years. From armour to chaps, from bomber jackets to codpieces, leather has been an identifying symbol of masculinity.

Denim has been a fabric weave available since the 18th century, although denim worship as a kink was a by product of the leather and biker culture after WW2 that in turn developed into the early gay male leather scene.

From Wikipedia

“The 1953 film The Wild One starring Marlon Brando wearing jeans, a T-shirt, a leather jacket, and muir cap, played on pop-cultural fascination with the Hollister “riot” and promoted an image of masculine independence that resonated with some gay men who were dissatisfied with a culture that stereotyped gay men as effeminate. To that end, gay motorcycle culture also reflected some men’s disaffection with the coexistent gay cultures more organized around high culture, popular culture (especially musical theatre), and/or camp style. Perhaps as a result, the leather community that emerged from the motorcycle clubs also became the practical and symbolic location for gay men’s open exploration of kink and S&M”

The 1980’s saw the birth of the “Macho Clone” with men embracing the blue jeans, white t-shirt look, seeing the uniform as a code of masculinity. The 1980’s also saw leather entering mainstream pop culture through the music scene and artists.

Dedicated denim fetishist’s enjoy the smell and feel of a well wear pair of jeans, either on themselves or someone else. Some practitioners customise their denim for sex, using either zippers or carefully placed tears and holes for easy access to ass or cock.

Leather Fetishists also enjoy the smell, look and wear of leather. Leather as a fetish can also cover a wide variety of items, from boots, chaps, jocks, harness’, hoods, armbands, jackets and jeans. Leather fetishism can be about wearing the items, or having sex in the items, with kinks like Boot Blacking growing from caring for leather.

There is often cross over in leather and denim fetishism.

This has been taken from BootCo