Intelligent safeguarding Leather with excellent energy absorption via the toughness-flexibility coupling designation

•Designing a novel toughness and flexibility coupling structure for next-generation soft body armor.•Combining biocompatible materials (leather) with raterelated material (shear stiffening gel) to fabricate the Leather/CNT-SSG/PU.•Novel Leather/CNT-SSG/PU coupling structure possesses high impact energy absorption, high limit ballistic penetration velocity, and special stress wave dissipation ability.•Constructing an intelligent bulletproof vest with excellent anti-impact performance and in situ monitoring behavior.