Simonoggio
New in Town
- Messages
- 34
- Location
- Switzerland
I'd like to tell you about my latest leather jacket and collaboration with Mark and Rebecca who are based in Southern Germany. Their business is very small but full of heart. As of right now, they can't earn a living from their leathercraft, it's still more of a passion but something they wish to expand, of course. Throughout our conversations and exchanges I always got the impression that these two really love what they're doing and they know their stuff. Moreover, they're also really nice people that you would want to have beer with and simply chat about leather, art and life in general.
But back to the jacket: It is a J-100 style in an indigo dyed horsehide from a German tannery. Mark posted on Instagram that they're experimenting with indigo dyed leather and if anyone would be interested, they should drop them a note. That I did and what followed was an exchange of ideas about style, leather choices, the nature of indigo dyed leather, etc. We then noticed that we live rather close to each other (about a 40min train ride), so we decided to meet in order finalize my jacket idea. Mark even picked me up from the train station.
We talked various leathers, thicknesses, linings, zippers, patterns and other small details that matter to a leather jacket afficionado like ourselves here. The leather and all the materials are sourced as locally as possible. I had my eye set on ring-on-a-chain type zippers for the chest pockets but since we couldn't find any local manufacturers that also matched the quality, Becca decided to make them herself. This turned out o be rather difficult but she managed anyway. I guess this shows quite well that Mark and Becca are truly invested in a quality item and customer satisfaction if they go to these lengths. I imagine this is not something they're likely to offer again, given the workload, but I'm very thankful as they turned out great.
Once we finalized the design, I got measured out and later a sort of mock-up or try-on jacket made of cotton was manufactured for me to try on and improve the fit where necessary. The fit was already very good but a few changes here and there worked wonders in the end. Once we were all happy with the changes, Mark dyed the leather and sewed everything together. The result can be seen in the pictures and I'll talk about that shortly. The whole ordering process, from conception to the final product, was about 4 months, I believe.
I'm very happy with the jacket. The fit is spot on and it makes me look a lot cooler than I actually am. Mark has a keen eye for details and it shows in the final product. The stitching is immaculate. The leather characterful. It has a thickness of about 1.6mm if I'm not mistaken. It feels substantial but is also rather soft. The colour has a mesmerizing depth to it. It changes from dark navy to electric blue even to purple hues depending on the light conditions. It is a very versatile colour and I absolutely love it! It does rub off onto lighter coloured clothing just like raw denim but it's not as bad as I thought. The cotton lining feels sturdy and adds a nice little something special to the overall look. The zippers are YKK (except the custom chest zippers as mentioned above) and feel very robust. The overall quality is excellent and can easily be compared to the Big Names.
It's a fantastic jacket and I can only highly recommend Mark and Rebecca if you're in the market for a made-to-measure leather jacket of excellent quality!
Btw, if you happen to be in Düsseldorf this weekend, check them out at the Heritage Post Trade Show! They're exhibiting for the first time and I'm sure it's definitely worth a visit.
And now, I'll let the pictures do the talking: (the fit pic is taken from their instagram channel, the rest are mine)
But back to the jacket: It is a J-100 style in an indigo dyed horsehide from a German tannery. Mark posted on Instagram that they're experimenting with indigo dyed leather and if anyone would be interested, they should drop them a note. That I did and what followed was an exchange of ideas about style, leather choices, the nature of indigo dyed leather, etc. We then noticed that we live rather close to each other (about a 40min train ride), so we decided to meet in order finalize my jacket idea. Mark even picked me up from the train station.
We talked various leathers, thicknesses, linings, zippers, patterns and other small details that matter to a leather jacket afficionado like ourselves here. The leather and all the materials are sourced as locally as possible. I had my eye set on ring-on-a-chain type zippers for the chest pockets but since we couldn't find any local manufacturers that also matched the quality, Becca decided to make them herself. This turned out o be rather difficult but she managed anyway. I guess this shows quite well that Mark and Becca are truly invested in a quality item and customer satisfaction if they go to these lengths. I imagine this is not something they're likely to offer again, given the workload, but I'm very thankful as they turned out great.
Once we finalized the design, I got measured out and later a sort of mock-up or try-on jacket made of cotton was manufactured for me to try on and improve the fit where necessary. The fit was already very good but a few changes here and there worked wonders in the end. Once we were all happy with the changes, Mark dyed the leather and sewed everything together. The result can be seen in the pictures and I'll talk about that shortly. The whole ordering process, from conception to the final product, was about 4 months, I believe.
I'm very happy with the jacket. The fit is spot on and it makes me look a lot cooler than I actually am. Mark has a keen eye for details and it shows in the final product. The stitching is immaculate. The leather characterful. It has a thickness of about 1.6mm if I'm not mistaken. It feels substantial but is also rather soft. The colour has a mesmerizing depth to it. It changes from dark navy to electric blue even to purple hues depending on the light conditions. It is a very versatile colour and I absolutely love it! It does rub off onto lighter coloured clothing just like raw denim but it's not as bad as I thought. The cotton lining feels sturdy and adds a nice little something special to the overall look. The zippers are YKK (except the custom chest zippers as mentioned above) and feel very robust. The overall quality is excellent and can easily be compared to the Big Names.
It's a fantastic jacket and I can only highly recommend Mark and Rebecca if you're in the market for a made-to-measure leather jacket of excellent quality!
Btw, if you happen to be in Düsseldorf this weekend, check them out at the Heritage Post Trade Show! They're exhibiting for the first time and I'm sure it's definitely worth a visit.
And now, I'll let the pictures do the talking: (the fit pic is taken from their instagram channel, the rest are mine)
