International Mr. Leather (IML) is an international, though largely American, conference and contest of leathermen held annually in May since 1979 in Chicago, Illinois. Every year, the event corresponds to the weekend of the United States' Memorial Day holiday. IML is an internationally recognized distinction with an informal relationship with how contestants qualify: contestants must either be a winner of a lower-level feeder competition of a bar, local or regional leather contest or be sponsored by a leather-related bar, business, club, or organization.