(Related: How to pull off 1970s style in a modern way)

From reliable purveyors of luxury (Italian houses Corneliani, Bottega Veneta) to sportswear brands reviving archived suede trainers (Nike, Puma), there’s never been a better time to get your hands on this Barry White-smooth hide. Leading the pack in innovation for SS16 is Belstaff, which offered up a suede cape (sounds madcap, looks surprisingly wearable), and Dunhill, which took the cagoule, gave it the suede treatment and birthed a – frankly brilliant – Liam-Gallagher-gone-luxe piece of outerwear that will be pitifully useless in the rain, but will make you very enticing to touch. Every little helps.

Suede has swathed the streets, too. For London Collections Men ambassadors Jack Guinness and Oliver Cheshire, a well-cut suede jacket is pretty much a fashion week prerequisite. Suede is, quite literally, sitting front row.

(Related: This season’s biggest street style trends)

How To Wear Suede

Yes, it’s all well and good for the professionally styled Gandys and Olis of this world, but what’s the best way of deploying this plush fabric in your rotation (without looking like you’re line-dancing your way to a country and western convention)?

Modernity is king when it comes to wearing suede – so give old-school, vintage-inspired designs the short shrift in favour of pieces that give suede a more contemporary treatment in cut and colour.

Outerwear

Let’s start on familiar ground, shall we? Whether you opt for a safari, bomber or worker jacket as your suede outerwear of choice, you’ll want to steer towards earthy tones (hunter green, tan, taupe, brown) which not only feel particularly relevant right now, but also won’t show up dreaded suede stains as much as lighter hues like beige.

Even better, these colours are relatively easy to pair with navy, black, grey and white (the cornerstone colours of any man’s wardrobe), which means you’ll have a fighting chance of recouping through wear the fairly significant outlay a quality suede jacket demands.