Leather jacket
A leather jacket is an item of clothing made from animal, tanned skin . It is used as functional clothing as well as fashionable clothing. As functional clothing , it is now worn by motorcyclists (bikers) and, in the first half of the 20th century, by pilots (flight jackets ). For this purpose, both specific cuts for flight jackets and specific motorcycle jackets have been developed, which are also repeatedly quoted, adopted and varied in fashion. In principle, leather jackets can be made in almost any cut. There are jackets and complete classic men's suits made of leather. Stylistic borrowings from functional aviator and motorcycle jackets can also be found in fashionable leather jackets.
The leather jacket is sometimes used in the uniform of the police and private security services .
The leather jacket of the first and also of today's aviators typically has a brown, dark gray or black color, that of the motorcyclist is traditionally black, especially in the motorsport sector, especially in the motocross sector, it is now often colored, often in the color scheme of the sponsors or the racing team . In addition, they are often provided with eye-catching company advertising logos.
The leather jacket often has a clichéd masculine image. Associations with the world of motorcyclists , fighter pilots , police officers, etc. can often still be felt in fashionable jackets due to the stylistic proximity. Certain forms of leather jackets are also associated with certain subcultures . It is often those in which harshness or traditional images of masculinity play a role. For example, variants of the leather jacket were and are often associated with rock 'n' roll , rockabilly , rockers , punks , goths , metallers , rivetheads , etc., and also with individual rock stars .
In the 20th century, the leather jacket achieved cult status, mainly through film. Examples include the Perfecto motorcycle jacket worn by Marlon Brando's Johnny Strabler in Der Wilde (1953), Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale in The Avengers , and Michael Paré in Eddie and the Cruisers (1983). All together made the leather jacket popular with American and British youth, starting with the "greaser" subculture in the 1950s and early 1960s. A later portrayal of this type of jacket and the period was " The Fonz " on the TV show " Happy Days " which was produced in the 1970s and 1980s but portrayed life in the 1950s and 1960s. The Fonz's leather jacket is now in the Smithsonian Institution . The Grease film duo have since popularized leather jackets with their male T-Birds clique. Back then, a leather jacket cost between seven and twenty dollars, a high price at the time.
Most of the leather jackets are produced in Italy , Pakistan , India , Mexico and the USA .
Flight jackets worn by pilots and members of the military were typically brown, as demonstrated by many stars in the 1940s and 1950s. The brown leather jacket has become an indispensable part of the wardrobe of Hollywood adventure actors, from Gary Cooper in "For Whom the Hour " to Harrison Ford in the Indiana Jones films. While the black leather jacket fashion wave ended in the early 1960s, bomber jackets, often with sheepskin collars, remained popular. You canseethem in the movie " Top Gun " (1986).
There are many other examples of iconic leather jackets in pop culture, such as the one worn by the T-800 character from Terminator films and the longer ¾-length trench coat style worn by action heroes like Steven Seagal or Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne in the Matrix -Film. Another example is Brad Pitt's leather jacket - a New Hampstead Blazer - in the movie " Fight Club ", in which the antagonist "Tyler Durden" appears with different variations of his "red" leather jackets. Other famous leather jacket icons include those worn by members of the Black Panthers in the 1960s and 1970s, punk rock groups such as the Ramones , the Libertines , members of the heavy metal subculture, etc. In most pop culture examples, the jackets are from Worn by people who have an intimidating or potentially violent or rebellious image. The light brown leather jacket became very popular in the Britpop and independent music image and culture and was worn by Kelly Jones from Stereophonics , among others . The punk culture also relies on leather jackets with accessories such as chains, bolts or rivets. Many "Metal Heads" adhere to the Judas Priest look (black leather jacket and leather pants, chains and an abundance of rivets).
There are significant differences between leather jackets made as fashion items and those worn as protection (during activities such as motorcycling). Leather jackets designed for protection are heavier, thicker, and often reinforced with panels, regardless of the pop culture-induced symbolism.
Leather jackets are also used as uniforms or work clothing. You can find them in Germany as part of the uniform of the police, at customs, at public order offices, for the vehicle drivers of Deutsche Bahn or other municipal and private transport companies.
Leather jackets were popular with the Russian Bolsheviks and almost became a uniform for commissioners during the Russian Civil War and later for members of the Cheka . This habit is said to have been initiated by the revolutionary and politician Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov .
literature
- Mick Farren: The Black Leather Jacket . Non-fiction book on the cultural history of the black (motorcycle) leather jacket, English. Abbeville Press Publishers, New York, NY 1985, ISBN 0-89659-573-0 .
