This denim trucker jacket with leather sleeves is a bit of a departure for us.
Our space is a little tight to regularly work in fabrics – past our linings and stretch technique – but it’s always good to flex-up on disciplines.
We are very happy with the results, and our client was thrilled. After getting his jacket, he spied a similar style in YSL’s windows and had to check it out – and declared his trucker jacket far superior! Of course, his jacket is a one-of-a-kind piece made expressly for him and not a piece of a production run of hundreds or more.
This trucker jacket is made up in a stiff, deep indigo Japanese denim – the fabric was rinsed once and dried to give a slightly softer hand. Finishing that saturated often has a distinct scent which was also taken care of. Pre-rinse, the denim was practically a flat black. Rinsing brought out a really beautiful depth and a much bluer tone. Since the jacket won’t be washed, but dry-cleaned, further fading, is not expected.
The sleeves are a nice meaty New Zealand lambskin, this was a very popular skin in the 1990s for its distinct texture and plush, thick hand, but you don’t see it as often anymore. Often the skins are very lightly finished, and because of this, they tend to have less clean useable areas since nothing is applied to mask and cover flaws, but these hides were incredible!
Very often, you will see NZ lamb with a washed and shrunken finish, which is called “bubble leather” this is a good way to get better coverage with these skins since the flaws disappear into the heightened texture created with washing.
I had a little fun with the crimson grosgrain finishing – the inside of the denim trucker jacket looks as clean as the outside of the jacket. Fine finishing is a hallmark of custom-made. The inside should always be a cleanly finished as the outside.
I’ve done other Trucker jackets and trucker-inspired jackets
This Denim Trucker Jacket with Leather sleeves was 100% patterned, cut, and built in our NYC Atelier. Our focus is custom-made. We don’t customize existing pieces.