When Henry Ford developed his revolutionary Model T vehicle, the world of motoring would change forever.

Self-starting, affordable and hugely popular, it took America by storm. And as with production of the revolutionary car set to begin in Britain, there were opportunities to be had from the arrival of the ‘Tin Lizzies’.

At Bridge of Weir, Arthur Muirhead had recently invested in an old blanket mill which he’d turned into his own leather business. 

(Image: Scottish Leather Group)

This rapidly accelerating world of motoring, he reckoned, was on a one-way journey that was only ever heading up.

And those going on along for the ride would want to be taken there in the luxury, comfort and quality of good Scottish-made leather.

With impressive chutzpah, Arthur packed up some samples of his leather, caught a steamship to New York and a train to Detroit to knock on Mr Ford’s door.

(Image: Scottish Leather Group)

His bold bid in 1911 paid off. Mr Ford was impressed by the soft leather from well-fed Scottish cattle which had roamed free, had barely any signs of scars, dyed beautifully and was deceptively tough.

This Scottish leather, he decided, would be ideal for his British-made Ford Model T cars.

For the following century and beyond, Bridge of Weir Leather would be the go-to leather of choice for an astonishing array of remarkable cars, from top end luxurious limos to slinky McLaren sports cars.

(Image: Scottish Leather Group)

Its sister firm, Muirhead, founded by Arthur's relatives in 1840, has similar success supplying leather for airlines, coaches and trains, for marine, furniture and luxury goods like handbags and electronics.

Yet while Scottish leather travels the globe, the firm's names often fly under the radar: few who slip behind the wheel of a luxury car or click the seatbelt on board an Emirates, Singapore Airlines or British Airways flight will have the slightest clue their comfort is courtesy of Scottish expertise and, quite often, Scottish hides.

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Now the two companies have emerged from the shadows, as sponsors for an innovative installation celebrating the natural beauty of leather at London’s V&A South Kensington. 

Part of the London Design Festival 2024, Un-hide: Reframing Luxury, has been created by British-Ghanian designer Kusheda Mensah of Modular by Mensah, known for innovative interlocking furniture, often working in recycled foam and post-consumer recycled PET fabrics.

(Image: Scottish Leather Group) This time, however, focus has switched to leather for an installation which aims to re-evaluate its role, highlight its sustainability and showcase its natural beauty.

It may well herald a new phase and appreciation for leather products. Recent times have seen the rise of veganism and debate over how sustainable leather is, whether alternatives are a better choice and if using animal skins for products can be ethical.

Fashion designers like Stella McCartney unveiled non-leather alternative handbags and shoes.

And automobile manufacturers, conscious of their carbon footprint and the shift in consumer demand for cleaner, greener vehicles turned attention to not just what is under the bonnet, but what’s inside their cars too.

With leather-like alternatives appearing made from everything from mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus, to piñatex, cellulose fibres extracted from pineapple leaves, traditional leather suppliers could be forgiven for wondering if they were witnessing the beginning of the end of the road.

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Could leather products compete?

“Ask me that question five years ago and I was quite worried,” admits Nick Muirhead, great-great grandson of the pioneering Arthur, whose meeting with Henry Ford propelled a business that began producing firemen’s belts and gloves to luxury car interiors.

“I think there’s a place for alternatives, but it’s important we call them what they are and often that’s plastic.

“It’s important to understand that just because something is vegan, we shouldn't make the assumption it is more sustainable, because I don’t think that’s accurate. Something can be vegan but not necessarily sustainable.

(Image: Scottish Leather Group) “Now, consumers are better informed about the choices they are making and are more educated as to what they are buying.”

He believes consumers are rethinking how they view leather and its alternatives - and are falling back in love with leather.

“Leather is a natural product, it’s extremely durable. While people eat meat, there’s going to be a by-product, and we need to do something with it.

“Our hides are purely dependent on consumers’ demand for meat because at end of the day, it’s meat producers we buy the hides from.

“If leather manufacturing didn’t exist today you can image a world where we have it going to landfill and someone saying ‘is there not something we can do with all this waste?’

“Now, if someone said ‘we have invented leather’ it would be hailed as one of the best inventions.”

The business recently ploughed £18 million into a new tannery facility, boosting energy efficiency. Since 2003, the Group has reduced the carbon intensity of its leather by 90% - it says it makes the world's lowest carbon intensity leather, at 1.4 kg of CO2e per hide.

Nick says leather has natural advantages over the competition, with aviation companies opting for leather for practical as well as aesthetic reasons.

(Image: Scottish Leather Group)

“A leather seat will last ten, 12 years or longer. With synthetic or fabric, it’s looking at four years,” he explains.

“A fabric seat, you need to dry clean and produce an additional seat, so if someone has a spill you can replace it. With leather, you don’t have that problem - clean it and it’s good to go.

“It’s like a good pair of leather shoes that will last a lifetime, instead of having to buy new ones every six months.”

His great great grandfather’s deal with Henry Ford was laid the foundations for today's Scottish Leather Group even if it was, he adds, a “bit of a gamble” at the time.

“It was a niche market, but the Ford Model T was our springboard to other automobile manufacturers.

(Image: Scottish Leather Group)

“We’d go on to supply the likes of Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Land Rover, Volvo, Morgan. We still supply Ford today as sole leather supplier for their Lincoln models.

“And we continue to be the UK’s sole manufacturer of automotive leather.”

Leather from Bridge of Weir Leather and sister business Muirhead, established in 1840, would end up on the Royal Yacht Britannia, and provide soft comfort for behinds on the benches of the House of Commons and House of Lords.

The group’s leather went to DMC DeLorean for its iconic ‘Back to the Future’ sports cars, the library at the University of Oxford, and to Ford’s rival to Rolls-Royce, its ultra-luxury Continental Mark II.

That deal was struck in the 1955, again by the wily Arthur and by that time in his early 80s.

He was playing golf at Lake Worth in Florida on one of his regular golf-business trips when he heard of a luxurious new Ford being built at Detroit.

“Take some of my samples along,” he suggested to his salesman, who crashed the Ford board meeting with strips of Scottish-made leather and left with a multi-million dollar deal.

After rigorous testing including exposing it to constant sunlight and extreme temperatures, leather dyed in 14 colours from Scottish Aberdeen Angus herds ended up in America’s most expensive cars.

(Image: Scottish Leather Group)

It was a particularly good year for the business: Arthur's team also snared the contract to supply leather for the revolutionary Citroen DS and another style icon, the famous Charles Eames chair and ottoman.

The next year – his 84th – Arthur was back in America, searching out new business from California to Oregan and Detroit.

Today, the 100% family-owned Scottish Leather Group employs around 800 people at home and abroad, and works with 800,000 hides a year of which 98% are sourced from UK and Ireland.

Almost 90% of all hides produced in Scotland, end up at its tannery.

Every hide can be traced straight back to the farm from where the animal once grazed.

(Image: Scottish Leather Group)

The spirit of enterprise and innovation shown by Arthur endures today. In the 1930s, he was experimenting with poultry skin, producing a delicate leather into purses and pouches. These days Scottish Leather Group is also at how to broaden use of by-products such as collagen, which is used in the food and beauty industries.

With a world-shortage of protein, the business – which produces around 250 tons per week - is working with partners on how to create biofoams and bioplastics for use in seating.

Such natural biofoams would help reduce the need for synthetic materials which do not biodegrade, unlike natural materials.

(Image: Scottish Leather Group)

“I don’t think the world has ever changed so fast as it’s changed recently,” says Nick. 

“We’re never standing still, we’re constantly evolving.”