First off: thank you for the link, I'm p excited by it!

My understanding was that a lot of synthetic leather was made of plastic, which is what my issue with it is.

Apple skin leather is one ive seen. I mean, ethos of leathersex and the habits involved in and surrounding it are more important than actual leather tbh, but "leather" aesthetic is still p hot.

Why I'm looking for aesthetic alternatives while trying to explore S/M.

I mostly just want to explore receiving pain. I've naturally given myself some pretty painful things, due to injecting my hormones and I want to explore that side of the pain/pleasure coin. Domination, role-playing, servitude, vulnerability and playing with my vulnerabilities. There's an ocean of possibility that I'm a bit more certain that I want every day.