Nike Lab x James Lavelle:
Available at Haven – $700 CAD ($563 USD)
Haven describes it as a bomber / varsity hybrid. Talks about the lustre of polyester, supple wool blend, and premium tumbled cow leather. Are the cows tumbled (tipped?) or is the leather tumbled after the fact? Kidding fam. I feel like I have to call audibles on jokes on this site sometime. Many you guys think there’s something wrong with me for talking about this stuff in the first place… gotta be safe and assume a joke-question about tipped cows might not be caught.
The jacket itself is pretty hot, I must say. Classic MA-1 pocket on the sleeve, and they tossed us another outer pocket on the chest. The tonal olive fabrics they use definitely work. What the hell is up with the black unintelligible patches though? That shit is straight ISIS. Like if ISIS had a dope stylist, he (yes HE… I’m not trying to be sexist here but ISIS is not going to have a female stylist) would lace the whole crew in actual ISIS versions of these, along with the all black Balmain bikers and some black on black Common Projects Achilles’. Think of how fire they would look posted up with the black balaclavas and AKs too? WOOOOOOOOOOO, now that’s what I call marketing terror to the fashion obsessed Western world. The best part would be, even though take home weapons of war are no longer allowed, jackets definitely are. When the whole lot of them are dead I’d call a favor in to have one of these show up at my doorstep FedEx International Priority. I’d deface the patches, and USA USA USA the shit out of the jacket. Might even be a savage and keep the blood on the fabric for authenticity, carry around the certificate I obviously would have copped from the DNA lab showing that the blood does indeed contain human and goat DNA. Can’t fade me. If you run into me, better have Allstate with you. All day.
James Lavelle (who I hadn’t heard of), started a UK based record label called Mo’ Wax. He must be doing alright for himself if he is famous enough (or has enough money) to have a Nike collab… I haven’t heard of much in their discography tbh.
Thoughts? Would cop in current version, or war take-home ISIS version?
Phenomenon Tokyo comes through with the MA-1 bomber, with a twist:
LOL yea 16 pockets on the back alone, and it looks like there are side pockets too. So much for just having the MA-1 Bomber classic, one on the arm. You’ll full on need a second person to help you retrieve stuff from your back. Either that or you’ll risk looking like a herb removing your jacket to fetch your inhaler, which you no doubt only have because you’re out here runnin’ shit. *Oh my god oh my god, if I die I’m a legend*
I have no idea on the price because the Phenomenon site is mad Japanesey. Google translate fails me for the most part on there, but I gather that this back pocket version of their MA-1 is part of a capsule collection called “Tokyo Versus The Stage” which they have on for a limited time.
Thoughts? Would cop? It’s a tough choice between OD and black with this one for me.
Hat tip: Andres
Available for $620 over at Mr. Porter. Waxed cotton only looks better with age… this jacket is sweet. Good to see an A-2 when so many companies seem to be sticking with the MA-1.
Vintage hand painted leather? This kind of stuff will never be considered uncool:
At the beginning of the war, Army Air Corps members were issued the most badass jacket in the military, the leather A-2—which had been the standard leather flight jacket since 1931. In WWII, these jackets became a canvas for teenage flyers to express their rugged individuality. They’d get the backs painted, and often these images included the plane’s nickname and little bombs to tally how many missions the crew flew. On the front, personalized patches would often indicate one’s squadron or bomb group.
Very interesting stuff… make sure you read the whole history and check out more pictures over at Collectors Weekly.
They recommend these two books; American Flight Jackets, and Art of the Flight Jacket if you really want to go way down the flight jacket rabbit hole.
Although more than one jacket may have been painted with the same or similar designs, the nature of leather, how it wears, and the subtle differences in hand painting make each one unique.
Until the end of time, designers will not leave these iconic military jacket designs alone:
At least the suede is on the top where you are less likely to come in contact with something dirty.
I don’t like how McQueen deviated from the original MA-1 bomber jacket design with the collar. The stand up collar doesn’t work as well as the original collar in my opinion.
$2550 over at Mr. Porter.
A short bomber jacket for the man who has too much money:
$7750 over at Burberry. Yes that price is correct, and it even comes with a detachable black mink collar you can see above. If you buy one, take pics… I want to see one in the wild. 😛 Bonus points if you show your face at an Air Force base with this on.
Even in the pics you can tell that leather is butter soft. The style is definitely not for me though…
