This season, there’s a new leather jacket in town. It’s not the classic moto, nor the fully back-in-vogue leather blazer. (And it’s certainly not the logo-ed-out motocross jacket, perhaps menswear’s most unexpected curveball of late.) Instead, these jackets feel uniquely designed to meet this moment in men’s fashion. Which is to say they’re semi-dressy, a little rugged, and just the tiniest bit glamorous. Whatever you want to call it, it nods to the classic 1990s jacket with a super sharp spin.
It all starts with a boxy loose fit with (crucially) a slightly cropped length. There may be a slight taper to the waist, but nothing too drastic. Pockets are optional. Zippers are heavyweight silver. It’s like a trucker jacket had a baby with a bomber. This is the leather jacket fit for a Friday night at a rowdy local dive, and then a Saturday evening at the neighborhood’s swankiest spot.
The style is currently on racks (digital and IRL) at all ends of the fashion spectrum. On the upper echelon is this jacket from Celine, with no shortage of Hedi Slimane’s somehow austere grunginess, and the Eternal jacket from Jerry Lorenzo’s Fear of God, a futuristic profile with dropped shoulders. (There are also matching FOG pants, if you are so inclined.) The Los Angeles label Second Layer, which has had one of the most under-the-radar leather programs stateside, sells the razor-sharp Barras Blouson. (Also see another California native: John Elliot.) For more wallet-friendly options, turn to upstart Carb Studios for its Fairfax jacket, made from the brand’s “innovative vegan leather,” or Theory, which sells a pointed-collar silhouette still made of real leather.
Of course, there are some delightful outliers, too. Loewe’s take on the style is an artful rendering with asymmetric seams all-over and diagonal zipped chest pocket. Supreme’s latest collection includes a Schott collaboration in black cowhide leather, yes, but also a shimmering silver option. Leather remains a muse of contemporary menswear, proving to be a covetable way to bring some unexpected shine to whatever fit you’re wearing. These jackets—tough and modern and decadent at once—are just the latest wave, and it’s certainly one worth riding.
