Inspired by the iconic Shaft leather trench coat he’s loved forever. My client came to me with a very strong vision.
For years he’s dreamed about having a coat inspired the iconic leather trench coat that Richard Roundtree wore as “Shaft”.
But he wanted it LUXE. Modern and Wearable and cut to fit his striking 6’8″ frame. Basically the polar opposite of what comes up when you google “Shaft Leather Trench Coat”
The design and styling of that early 70s era leather fashion remains almost unparalleled.
It was innovative and free with a great sense of fun and swagger. So many iconic leather garments were created in the very late 1960s and Early 1970s – and those that have survived have become major collectors items.
But the quality and construction of those original pieces leaves a lot to be desired and the fit is very unrealistic at this point. But there is SO much inspiration to be had.
The first challenge in bringing this vision of shaft’s leather coat to life was finding the right color leather.
I found a gorgeous naked finished leather in this Havana color, but for a leather trench coat, a fully naked finish would be disastrous. (Naked leathers in colors seem to get dirty by just looking at them!)
So, I was lucky that my vendor was able to get this made without the usual minimums required (1000+ sqft)
This added quite a bit of time too the process but the result was well worth it.
Semi-aniline leather like this one is much more resistant to most types of staining and marking that can happen with normal wear. (Ballpoint ink/permanent marker- sorry, you are on your own)
The lining my client chose is this super rich shade of Silk Crepe backed Satin, and the combo is amazing!
The retro antiqued Brass Buckles and buttons were sourced just for this coat – I am thrilled I was able to locate such thematically perfect finishing touches for this piece. It’s become harder and harder to find good quality and unique findings, even in NYC’s garment center. Since COVID, it’s gotten even harder.
Partially thru the whole design and fitting process news came that Richard Roundtree had passed away. So this coat is, in it’s own way, is a homage to the man who created such an indelible character with the swagger and confidence that inspired so many (like my client) and made that original garment so iconic.
Overall this coat took about 6 months to complete – working long distance, periodic in-person fittings accounted for a chunk of that time and waiting on the leather took up another big chunk of time. It was a longer than average time frame for the whole process.
Overall this coat took over 100 hours, this is just what goes into having a garment custom made.
Pattern making, (approx 30-40 hours)
Constructing three cotton Muslin garments to perfect the pattern (approx 3 hours each between cutting marking and sewing.)
The pattern has to be completely finalized before cutting anything in leather. The time spent on perfecting the pattern is vital.
Cutting the leather (60+ pcs – about 3-3.5 hours), lining (19 pcs – 1.5 hours ) and inner construction pieces (42+ pcs -about 2 hours)
Prepping all the pieces for construction (roughly 6 hours and a tedious but very necessary part of the process) And sourcing all the components…..4-5 hours.
Then the final construction (approx 45 hours) – and there is always added time required when handling this amount of leather and fabric to wrangle it under the machines and hammering/glueing all the seams- this takes care, you do not want to inadvertently damage anything during the process. Care takes time. And the care taken insures that bespoke leather coat like this can last a lifetime- it’s a forever piece.
I’ve made plenty of other leather trenchcoats, but this was an especially rewarding project.
