Leather Pride Pride

Tony DeBlase designed the leather pride flag in 1989 and unveiled it at the International Mr. Leather event in Chicago on May 28 of that year. He deliberately never assigned official meanings to the colors, preferring that the community interpret it for themselves.

The flag has nine horizontal stripes alternating between black and royal blue, with a white stripe at the center. The original design includes a red heart in the upper-left canton, representing the love that holds the community together. On a 3D-printed brick, the horizontal stripes translate directly into printed layers — the heart doesn't carry over, but the pattern does.

DeBlase chose not to copyright the flag, wanting it to belong to the community rather than any individual. He passed away in 2000, but the flag remains the primary symbol of leather, kink, and BDSM communities within the broader LGBTQ+ movement.

The leather community has deep roots in post-World War II motorcycle culture. Veterans formed clubs that became spaces for gay men to express masculinity and desire on their own terms. The flag captures that history in a design that's been in continuous use for over three decades.