Stingray

Stingray leather, or Shagreen, is tough and durable with a uniquely textured surface of tiny round bumps. Popular in the Art Deco period for use in furniture, and commonly used in Thailand for wallets and belts, it's popularity in the the fashion world (as with all "exotic" leathers) fluctuates. It can be treated in many different ways, to show-off its texture, as can be seen in the examples above.
I believe the effect of dyeing the leather one colour, and then dyeing the raised area a lighter colour uniformly over the whole skin, displays the texture to it's full effect (as illustrated in the YSL.) Being a bit of a texture junkie, I also love the combination of stingray and suede, as they seem to be polar opposites.

top to bottom:
Christian Dior s/s 09 via style.com
Making the Dior shoe
Stingray
Stingray leather (Shagreen)
Mr Hare via mrhare
Nike via kicksonfire
Yves Saint Laurent f/w 09 via fashionbombdaily