BLOG 1
authors note and image
AIMS
- Critique an item of clothing from my own wardrobe
IMPORTANT INFO
300 words
focus on the culture it reflects
include photos
focus on the culture it reflects
include photos
|
|
a peek at some regalia |
|
|
ORIGIN
When asked to pick an item from my closet to describe me, there was one obvious choice:
My red leather jacket.
Specification details:
Brand: Infinity
Size: L
Colour: Red
Materials: Leather, metal, polyester, cotton stitching, red dye.
This jacket is special to me, as it was one of the first items of clothing I bought for myself when I began going to college. This was the first time I was allowed to craft my own identity, adn this jacket has become a key part of it to this day.
My red leather jacket.
Specification details:
Brand: Infinity
Size: L
Colour: Red
Materials: Leather, metal, polyester, cotton stitching, red dye.
This jacket is special to me, as it was one of the first items of clothing I bought for myself when I began going to college. This was the first time I was allowed to craft my own identity, adn this jacket has become a key part of it to this day.
|
|
Looking into my jacket and the branching origins of how it came to be, I researched into the following topics:
- Dyes
- Leather craft
- Biker fashion culture
But before delving into the research, the most important area to begin with my jacket:
Myself.
I first bought the jacket in 2018 for my 17th bithday. (with a little help of some birthday money from my parents). I bought it from amazon, and I believe it cost just under £80.
At the time I had recently become a fan of 2 films: Akira (1988), and Rebel without a cause (1955)- both in which, the main character can be seen wearing a red jacket, and both in which they drive a red racing vehichle.
Myself.
I first bought the jacket in 2018 for my 17th bithday. (with a little help of some birthday money from my parents). I bought it from amazon, and I believe it cost just under £80.
At the time I had recently become a fan of 2 films: Akira (1988), and Rebel without a cause (1955)- both in which, the main character can be seen wearing a red jacket, and both in which they drive a red racing vehichle.
Akira (1988)
|
Rebel without a cause (1955)
|
|
|
If youre gonna race, do it in red. |
|
|
"RACING RED"
The idea of racing in red is something as deeply embedded into fashion as almost anything. The colour is as synonymous with racing as fedoras are with the old west, and for good reason.
Like most fashion, it has to do with a country, and their vibrant culture.
As to which country it is, I'll give you three guesses:
Like most fashion, it has to do with a country, and their vibrant culture.
As to which country it is, I'll give you three guesses:
Italy has been a leader in the racing scene since the 1920's. With manufacturers such as Alfa romeo, Ferrari, Lancia, maserati, and Abarth, it was the old tradition that when a car would be representing it's country, it would be flying the national colours. Luckily for the colour red, italy have been a fierce competitor in the scene since day one, earning the colour the reputation of being a winner's colour from almost the day it entered the sporting scene.
The colour even has it's own name:
"ROSSO CORSA"
("racing red")
The colour even has it's own name:
"ROSSO CORSA"
("racing red")
In short, I think its easy to draw a line from the colour's rich sporting assosiacion, to the strong draw masculine types have to racing (mainly due to its connotations of dominance, winning, glory, etc), to understand why the pairing is such an iconic trope.
Aside from colour however, if we dig deeper, what else goes into the jacket?
Aside from colour however, if we dig deeper, what else goes into the jacket?
|
|
Leather |
|
|
Leather is one of the oldest materials used for clothes and garments. Believes to be first primarily adopted by the Greeks around 1200BC, the material was later adopted by adjascent civilizations such as he Egyptians, and mainly the romans- whoused leathers aspects of being strong, durable and easily fashionable material to turn it into armour and clothing for their rapidly expanding empire.
with this in mind, we can flash forward a few thousand years to see how these inherent properties have been develped and adapted into today's uses for the material.
Now with stronger and more suitable materials to be used for combat protection, leather has re-aligned itself to a material suitable for less combat garments, and more fashion that aims to be both stylistic and durable.
This can be seen primarily back in our now familiar world of racing.
While car racing certainly requires clothing that is protection focused- the main danger of that sport lies in being set on fire, or having some sort of severe impact injusry when crashing. Simple to say, leather isnt going to help much in either of these.
In the world of motorcycle racing however, where the dangers lie in severe scrapes, friction burns, cuts and other lacerations, leather is a much more appropriate form of protection. This mainly due to the fact that it is light weight and streamlined enough to be an efficient item to wear, while at the same time being resistant enough to offer protection against these hazards.
with this in mind, we can flash forward a few thousand years to see how these inherent properties have been develped and adapted into today's uses for the material.
Now with stronger and more suitable materials to be used for combat protection, leather has re-aligned itself to a material suitable for less combat garments, and more fashion that aims to be both stylistic and durable.
This can be seen primarily back in our now familiar world of racing.
While car racing certainly requires clothing that is protection focused- the main danger of that sport lies in being set on fire, or having some sort of severe impact injusry when crashing. Simple to say, leather isnt going to help much in either of these.
In the world of motorcycle racing however, where the dangers lie in severe scrapes, friction burns, cuts and other lacerations, leather is a much more appropriate form of protection. This mainly due to the fact that it is light weight and streamlined enough to be an efficient item to wear, while at the same time being resistant enough to offer protection against these hazards.
|
|
Similar to how red became associated with winning races, leather became synonimous with motorcycles.
It's no surpise then, that when the rise of biker gangs became prominent in mid century America, their, to put it, "uniform" of choice, became the leather biker jacket, usually referred to as a "cut", due to the popular fashion of cutting off it's sleeves.
It's no surpise then, that when the rise of biker gangs became prominent in mid century America, their, to put it, "uniform" of choice, became the leather biker jacket, usually referred to as a "cut", due to the popular fashion of cutting off it's sleeves.
|
|
The new vintage |
|
|
Following our jacket's rich history, we come close to the modern day with it being associated with countless race victories, the armour of great armies, and the regalia of outlawed biker gangs.
But what do we associate it with in the modern day?
Following on from its association with biker gangs, the leather jacket kind of took on a life of its own, especially the red one.
Now when a character is seen wearing one in a movie, or other piece of media, they are instantly assumed to be a bad boy, a rogue, an outsider to the pack. usually if they adorn their jacket in red, it's a showcase of their bold direction in life, and the fact that they dont fit in with others.
Some obvious examples in pop culture are things such as Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, Brad Pitt in "Fight club", or Ryan Gosling in "The place beyond the pines". All portrayals of characters that are to some degree, going against the grain.
All of which, are characters I find fascinating.
But what do we associate it with in the modern day?
Following on from its association with biker gangs, the leather jacket kind of took on a life of its own, especially the red one.
Now when a character is seen wearing one in a movie, or other piece of media, they are instantly assumed to be a bad boy, a rogue, an outsider to the pack. usually if they adorn their jacket in red, it's a showcase of their bold direction in life, and the fact that they dont fit in with others.
Some obvious examples in pop culture are things such as Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, Brad Pitt in "Fight club", or Ryan Gosling in "The place beyond the pines". All portrayals of characters that are to some degree, going against the grain.
All of which, are characters I find fascinating.
