THE LEATHER BIKER JACKET
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item /ˈʌɪtəm/ noun noun: item; plural noun: items 1. an individual article or unit, especially one that is part of a list, collection, or set. “the item of the magazine” I have chosen the leather biker jacket as the subject in which to open a unique dialogue. Everyone has a story to tell, the item becomes the muse, the inspiration for different creatives to express themselves through a piece of work. No restrictions. The chosen item pulls all the stories together comfortably within the issue allowing the reader to understand the artist and their vision that much easier. Apostolos Koukidis
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Paul Joyce, Stylist
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Bertha Carasso, Stylist
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Adam-Peter Hicks, Photographer
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Timothy Wang,, Womenswear Designer
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On the Leather Jacket and Power
‘Self-presentation is about power,’ writes fashion scholar Elizabeth Wilson. What we wear may not be who we are underneath - but our choice of clothing gives us a symbolic means to define ourselves as subjects. It gives us control over our unstable human bodies, and what they say to the world – we can reveal them, hide them away, restrict them or transform them completely. Clothing becomes an integral part of the language of self-presentation; we use it to create narratives about ourselves, of how we fit into a given society. We can be conservative or rebel, look back into the past or resolutely into the future.
Brando’s perfecto in The Wild Ones, a leather jacket has connotations of a raw masculinity, of the cowboy, the biker. It represents male virility; a leather jacket hides the body’s inadequacies and makes it resilient, powerful. Subcultures embraced these connotations because they symbolise rebellion – masculinity untrammeled by the establishment. From gay leathermen to the punk rock movement, subcultures have long uses the leather jacket to play with and manipulate what it means to be man. It was Yves Saint Laurent, in his 1960 presentation for Dior, who first presented a leather jacket for women. It caused a controversy – signaling Saint Laurent’s final collection for the house. But women embraced the leather jacket for the same reasons that men did – it symbolised a raw power in a time when the feminist movement was swelling. Like men, women also used the leather jacket as a second skin, allowing them not only access to rebellion but also to a visible sexuality that had previously been denied. They could disavow gender expectations, like Debbie Harry, or later, during the 1980s, use their leather jacket as a sign of conspicuous wealth, coded with the sexual gratification that economic independence can bring. As Donna Karan declared, ‘Nothing else feels like leather on your skin, it’s the ultimate sensuality!’
But fashion also gives us the means to explore and traverse our complicated relationship with human sexuality. We can wear a nun’s habit or a bondage harness, offer up our erotic desires or erase them completely. Clothing can become a point of sexual power and control, a challenge to the establishment. The once humble leather jacket may seem a curious place for these issues to collide. Starting out as a functional garment, worn by soldiers during the First World War, the leather jacket has become a cultural institution in itself. It is no longer just an item of clothing but over time has instead become a carrier of meaning – turning into both an icon and a fetish. We desire the leather jacket because it speaks this meaning to the world; it is a coat of armour, a second skin.
In 2000, John Galliano presented his ‘Sado-Maso’ collection for Dior couture. It was a typically incisive collection from the flawed genius linking the combination of leather and fantasy, the leather jacket becoming a fetish of extreme wealth and power. The leather jackets that he presented were warped and skin tight, in black,
But why did this come to be? The leather jacket’s enduring appeal seems to stem from its implication of an unbridled masculinity. From its original incarnation on the fields of war to Marlon
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blood red and sharp yellows, the models holding phallic shotguns and the stripped skins of foxes and rabbits. In true Galliano style the collection was divisive and controversial, but it summed up a century of what the leather jacket had represented – power and rebellion, transformation and wealth. It may seem that as the leather jacket has filtered down into the everyday wardrobe that it has lost its power. But its connotations are unavoidable, and when you wear a leather jacket you bear its past meanings. Fetishists remain seduced by leather’s intriguing power, as too do designers, who continue to reinvent the leather jacket for modern life, like Rick Owens, whose leather jackets have become a rites of passage for the fashion obsessive. For both men and women the leather jacket continues to represent power. Whether this power manifests itself economically, sexually, as rebellion or fetish – the leather jacket has given us the authority to define ourselves, to choose who we want to be. Jack Moss, Writer
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Char Alfonzo, Visual Artist
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Number 3 Store 13
SCANDEBERGS, Photographic Duo
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Filep Motwary, Photographer
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Natalia Thomaidi, Fine Artist
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Sofia Korkoriadou, Fine Artist
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Leather Jacket I watched you dress and undress more times than I remember you stroking my hair or holding my hand. The way you looked was always important to you. Each night saw a different costume. I cared not for clothing, but more for the touch of bare skin of another’s against mine. The sensation of your warmth in chorus with the coolness of my synapses firing as each follicle of hair is disturbed with the tracing of your fingers and knuckles across my body. But this fantasy never did realise with you. A trouser dropped to your ankles. A sock pulled up to your shin. A shirt lifted over your head. As each fibre caressed your body I grew envious. Envious that this would never satiate my need for touch. Envious that you didn’t care for it. Your cares were to appeal to the eyes. But eyes can not feel. Feel the heat from the blood in your veins, feel the smooth of your fingertips. That night you cocooned yourself in black, absorbing all the dim light of the evening. The only glimmer of light you gave back to the world was the sheen from the leather jacket you had donned. And so I embraced you, silently said goodbye and took the last touch. It was cold. Thom Hadfield, Writer
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Efstathios Tsitinis, Fashion PR
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Cameron McMillan, Choreographer
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Μαύρο πέτσινο Φόρεσες μαύρο πέτσινο κι είχες το νου σου ελεύθερο εγκλήματα να κάνει με σκέψεις που δεν κάνει. Φόρεσες μαύρο σταυρωτό σακάκι αλλά ξεκούμπωτο να τρέχω εγώ από πίσω καημούς να καθαρίσω. Όμως να βάλεις ό,τι βάζεις το έχεις, πάντα ν’ αναβάλεις, στο αίμα σου τα πεπρωμένα. Να μένω εγώ χωρίς εσένα. Καθώς θα βγάζεις όσα βάζεις έτσι μονάχος θα κοιτάξεις πως όσα έχεις κεκτημένα πλέον μετράνε για χαμένα. Φοράω το μαύρο πέτσινο, σε λέω πια ανεύθυνο κι ανάξιο να κάνεις. Εμένα δε με φτάνεις. Φοράω μαύρο σταυρωτό σακάκι κι έχω στο λαιμό φουλάρι ελευθερίας με άρωμα ειρωνείας.
The black leather jacket You wore the black leather jacket setting your mind free to commit into crimes out of inappropriate thoughts. You wore your black blazer but unbuttoned and I’m running after you to clean all the longings up. But please, dress up with whatever you ‘ll wear it’s a habit of yours to postpone the destinies and leaving me here alone, without you. While you take off what you put on you ‘ll start screaming alone that whatever you had so far they are all lost now. I’m wearing the black leather jacket calling you irresponsible and incapable to act. You are loosing me. I’m wearing the black blazer and a scarf on my neck, made of freedom, and some drops of the sarcasm perfume.
Stergios Vrizas, Lyricist
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Eni Villaneau, Fine Artist
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Few seconds focused on mind and psyche processes..
Pause. Imagine that your naked body is similar to a white canvas. Every day, before you leave your doorstep, within a few seconds you combine various elements regarding your dressing issues. In fact, you need to decide, both consciously and unconsciously, which materials, forms and colours will give meaning into that white canvas. In other words? How will you “depict” yourself today across the world, among people? How do you feel today? What will you decide to wear? First of all, “what will you decide to wear”? Have you ever thought whether you pay attention to the aesthetic result of your canvas? For instance, if you would choose your black leather biker jacket would you satisfy your sensori-emotional values; your need to integrate art, beauty, and taste? More particular, neuroesthetics, which is the study of aesthetic perceptions in any form of art, including fashion, use neuroscience in order to understand the aesthetic experiences of beauty and appreciation of art at neurological level. In 2009 Dr. Semi Zeki, professor at the University College of London, suggested that “the artist is in a sense, a neuroscientist, exploring potentials and capabilities of the brain, though with different tools.” Therefore, have you ever thought yourself, as an artist who balances among proportions, senses, and textures? Though, apart from the aesthetic perception of the black leather jacket, clothing unconsciously reflects your self-perception. Moreover, researchers suggest that clothing not only reflects, but also enhances people’s self-perception especially on a range of specific attributes.Responsibility, uniqueness, professionalism, frankness,intellectuality and efficiency are just few of them. In fact, scientists such as Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky (2012), in their study described that phenomenon as “enclothed cognition”, meaning the psychological effects of clothes on cognitive processes and the symbolic meaning of clothing. In that case, the black leather biker jacket could be deducted as three different elements; colour, raw material, and outwear. More specific, colour is a form of non verbal communication, which meaning coulddefinitely vary, depending on culture and circumstances. However, black, which in fact is not a color but the absence of light in the colour spectrum, creates a sense of mystery, portraying the secretive and the unknown. It is also popular as an
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indicator of power, associated in manycultures with death, sexuality, menace and sophistication. As the painter Georgia O’Keeffe said “there is something about black. You can feel hidden away in it.” An overcoat made from antelope, buckskin, sheepskin, lambskin or cowhide reminds us of primitive rituals and habits. Unconsciously, people still interact through initial instincts, identified as the “will to live” by Arthur Schopenhauer in 1818 and the “death instinct” by Sigmund Freud in 1920. In addition, both the smell and the sound of leather are often connected with clothing fetishism. More specific, it is called leather fetishism, as an attempt to describe a sexual attraction to people wearing leather and or to the garments themselves, as erotic stimulus. Moreover, who would forget the history of the leather jacket originating in the early 1900s by aviators and members of the U.S. military, since it was often a part of an overall uniform ensemble? What about the Russian Bolsheviks, during the Russian Civil War, who worn also leather jackets as part of their uniform? Then, we could probably understand why in the later-half of the 20th century the leather biker jacket became an iconic status achieving general acceptance in Hollywood, as a mean of power, authority and self-confidence. Next. “How do you feel today?” It is well known that the relationship between emotions through clothing choices is significant, since mood is usually found on various studies to be managed and reflected through clothing. Even deeper, clothing, especially key elements of a wardrobe, play even more powerful role by contributing to individual’s whole sense of identity. According to Jacque Lacan, gazing is important in relation to the mirror stage. There, the individual appears to achieve a sense of mastery by viewing himself or herself in the mirror. This is the entrance into culture and language by establishing subjectivity through the fantasy image inside the mirror. Thus, queries such as “where am I going today?” underpins the relationship between cultural clothing choices and the individual. As it has long been understood socio-cognitive factors constitute a powerful mean of negotiating within culture. More specific, various studies verify that apparel choices affect the judgments other make of us, while at the same time depicts the way we stand into the world. For instance, usually people in some kind of uniform, are often associated with trust, intelligence and reliability. Also keep in mind, that people are evaluated on their overall head-to-toe appearance. Thus, the essential role that clothing plays in making a positive first impression cannot be underestimated. But, are we definitely sure that we don’t make additional efforts in order to fit ourselves into the appropriate social context? Into the appropriate uniform which is indirectly asked by the group we want to connect, interact and belong? Alison Bancroft in her book Fashion and psychoanalysis, refers to the Greek legend of Procrustes, “who forced his victims to lie on a bed that made them fit [into] by cutting off or stretching” their limbs. Socking sometimes, but how much do you force yourself, led by your need of belonging? Hence, individuals’ clothing choices affect how others evaluate them; while also it has become increasingly clear that clothing choices contribute to their self-concept and internal emotional organization. In addition, neuroeasthetics understands any form of art, such as fashion, as a way to satisfy sensori-emotional values, and each artist as a neuroscientist. Moreover, clothing is a very i
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nteresting mean, with thousands interpretations, as many as a piece of art and a potential spectator. Therefore, you as an artist depict your psyche into your white canvas every day, while your mind combines the best possible elements. However, watch out of the path you follow, as Diana Vreeland once said, “the only real elegance is in the mind; if you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it”. Full stop. Mind and psyche processes completed. Decision has been made. Your fav black leather biker jacket is already over your shoulders off you go. Ioanna Koptsi, MBPsS (DCoP) Psychologist
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Amy Neill, Stylist 27
Lynsey Coke, Visual Researcher
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Emily Cox, Womenswear Designer
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Florian Hetz, Retoucher
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It was not ‘Easy rider’ that made the beginning in 1959, but Buster Keaton’s ‘Sherlock jr.’ in 1924. And if Keaton didn’t ever wear the leather biker jacket, Denis Hopper did almost 30 years later. And if through centuries, the biker jacket personified and marginalized its owner, automatically it gave him an essence of glamor freedom, a necessary rogue and irresistible attraction. Worn in dark and forbidden basements in William Friedkin’s ‘The Cruising’, forcing public and critics to renounce the film due to explicit scenes, establishing it as a symbol of the hippie 70s on Hopper’s ‘Easy rider’, and also as a cult film reference in the second part of Miller’s ‘Mad Max’ just to enter the new millennium and dress Che Guevara in Sale’s ‘Motorcycle Diaries’ and obtain a cartoon dimension in both parts of bland ‘Ghost rider’. It was Schwarzenegger that wore it in James Cameron’s ‘Terminator’ in the late 80s. Marlon Brando made it look lovable in ‘The wild one’ in the 50s. At the same time it looked like a sexual object for Marianne Feithfoul in ‘The girl on a motorcycle’ in 1968 , and finally Spielberg made it familiar when Indiana Jones wore a dusty version of it. On the other side, Tom Cruise interpreted violently the definition of biker jacket in the trilogy of ‘Mission impossible’, and Jeff –‘Dude’Bridges gave to it an aboveground electronic dimension in the remake of ‘Tron Legacy’, while the Japanese manga ‘Akira’ stigmatized forever the world of animation with the hero’s red outfit. Obviously it is a controversial outfit that ‘’wore’’ its heroes in dozens of film titles, mostly b-movies that run through 70s and 80s when the sartorial mood required such a fashion. Condemned not to receive positive response and wide acceptance, the black biker jacket was connected to that mysterious and strict colour. Christos Politis, Politis Film Journalist
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NOFFUN, New Luddite
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Domenico de Chirico, Art Researcher
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Clara Canderan, Illustrator
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Jason Hall, Menswear Director
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Markella Samartzidou, Photographer
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Nicolò Parsenziani, Photographer
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Lucia Calfapietra, Illustrator
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Stories of a black leather jacket
What could a black leather jacket say? How many stories could be written on it? Eleonora Kanaki reveals the stories of her own fashion item. Everything started ten years ago. I met her after a journey from Italy to Thessaloniki. She was quite young, twenty years old and she loved me. It was love at first sight. I was a gift for her. A gift from mother to daughter. Why such a gift? Because I got in the hands of a woman who loved fashion and wanted me as an all-time classic piece. And that was me. That is me. I don’t want to sound narcissistic but I really believe in myself and I know exactly what I am. Yes, you hear well. I am every woman’s must have. What every woman needs and wishes she’d have in her closet when she doesn’t feel confident in the morning. I am both classic and modern. I am sporty and chic. I am versatile. So, let’s go back to my story… or let’s continue. From that day I am with her every autumn and fall, even spring or summer. I am with her, by her side. Like a best friend. I am the best friend in her closet. I know everything about her and her life. Problems and funny moments; laughs and tears; great loves and flings; break ups and reunions. I was there when she got her degree and when she went to her first job interview. When she travelled around the world. We saw many places together. In Europe, Asia, Africa, and America I was there when she got cold. I met all her friends. I became a “one night” friend for her friends. I missed her. We lost each other and we found each other; many times. I was even there when she got married. I plan to be there every season… with her… by her side… and eventually be her daughter’s “best friend”. And maybe provide her with an invisible sense of security. But that’s all to be continued…
Eleonora Kanaki, Fashion Editor
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Rickardo Maxwel, a menswear stylist from South West London, discusses his perspective on the influential position of the Leather jacket in the past, present and future and the role it has played in his upbringing.
How would you incorporate leather jackets from stylist point of view? Outwear is about attitude and personality but also for practically such as living in London. There is so much history behind it therefore it has become such a diverse piece of outerwear used across many genres; from bikers, to cowboy to hip-hop to rock n roll and so on. A leather jacket says so much about doing so little. It is the cornerstone of your personality of how you want people to perceive you. Which style of leather jacket do you think has had a great influence on your history and associations of the leather jacket? My dad bought a Gucci leather jacket in the 80’s and I have been jealous of it my whole life, it was the best thing ever. But I have a strong affiliation with the brand Schott because it’s a brand that I grew up with. Their coats are very trend amongst the Croydon youth and I was naturally attracted to the brand as it resonated with my childhood. One thing I like about fashion right now is how easy and diverse collaborations are. Including Schott’s work with a number of people from House of Holland and Jayden Rva James How come the leather jacket can go from a sub culture such as punk to mainstream? Clothing is generally adapted from practicality or a functional purpose and a leather jacket is very durable, its hardwearing and in certain periods of times it has been seen as more rebellious than any other form of outwear. For example, during thatcherism in 80s you had punks customizing their jackets with pins, badges and acrylic paint. But how has it been adapted to mainstream? Price has been a major influence, icons over the decade and every one wants to be cool. What do you think wearing a leather jacket symbolizes?
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Rickardo Maxwel, Stylist
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But how has it been adapted to mainstream? Price has been a major influence, icons over the decade and every one wants to be cool. What do you think wearing a leather jacket symbolizes? It can say a lot about ones self-awareness and being comfortable in your own skin because a leather jacket has so much history and attitude; “I am cool and I am comfortable”. It is guaranteed for judgment because people, from friends to a passerby on the street, judge you on what you wear. And it is probably one of the few items of clothing that never has visible branding but you know whom it is by. Do you think that is has had a great influence of the fashion industry? 100% - Its simple, everything from Heidi Slimane at Dior, Karl Lagerfeld to the classic legendary Male icons such as James Dean and Run DMC. Their images are still referenced from today. The good thing about leather jacket is it is a key piece to the wardrobe - whether you have got £60 and buy it from ASOS and Topman or whether you have £1000 and buy it from ACNE, you have got that jacket for life. It is probably the only piece of clothing made to still be attractive with wear. How do you see it developing? Controversial. To be honest, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. However there have been various changes over the year such as the way in which Claire Barrow works with her Leather Jackets. Colour has become more expandable - you can get an orange leather jacket. You can also see this expanding with detachable sleeves, Metallic, snakeskin sleeves, fur collars etc… But I would really love to see a hot deconstructed leather jacket by Margiela or Comme Des Garcon or Issey Miyake in their very innovative but expensive way. Would you rather style a fresh new jacket or rugged jacket? New because I would like to give the jacket it’s own history. If it gets scratched or the lining comes undone its something that i created. Whereas if I am styling or wearing a worn jacket, I am wearing someone else’s history and life. Do you own a leather jacket? Yes, my mother gave me one for my birthday 3 or 4 years ago and I love it to bits. Catherine Hammick, Journalist
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Nunzio del Prete, Menswear Designer
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Chrysanthos Chrystodoulou, Visual Artist
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Ever since Elvis Presley first slipped into cow hide and first began swivelling his hips in the early sixties, the leather jacket has been synonymous with rock and roll, liberation and rebellion. One thrust from Elvis would result in screaming and swooning - while before this, music fans would sit in quiet appreciation. In the half-century that has since passed, the leather jacket has become an essential item of music attire - for better of worse. During the rock and roll revolution of the sixties, the likes of The Rolling Stones and, to a lesser extent, The Beatles, helped establish the leather jacket as an iconic image of youth in revolt, before becoming a staple of the seventies punk scene. The leather jacket was not just worn, but was indeed uniform for the likes of The Ramones or The Sex Pistols, long before both bands became little more than high street t-shirt logos for a generation with no real knowledge of the scene on which their mass-produced clothes were based. It wasn’t all glamour however, with rotund rocker Meat Loaf rarely seen without a leather jacket in the seventies. With his chubby frame and difficult to swallow boasts of his sexual prowess on his operatic rock records, he did little for its image. Fortunately, the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Debbie Harry and Freddie Mercury were on hand to remind us all of the sexual spark that a leather jacket could ignite - with Mercury bringing the fetishism of leather into the music mainstream. During the eighties, the leather jacket had become a fashion staple in the music industry. Female stars such as Madonna and Whitney Houston wore them regularly in an attempt to give an edge to their sweet, mainstream sounds, with Cher trumping them all with the leather jacket / bare bum combo in her ‘Turn Back Time’ video. During the eighties however, it was only bands among the rising grunge movement that truly seemed to own the leather jacket, with the likes of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain the most iconic of the era - both musically and in the fashion stakes. However, by this point, the relationship between the leather jacket and the music industry was now approaching its 30 year anniversary, and for every Nirvana there was an aging Status Quo - and the leather jacket was now as associated with thinning hairlines as it was the spirit of rock and roll. By the Britpop revolution in the nineties, the leather jacket was no longer a symbol of youth or musical liberation, so long had it been in the public conscious. Sure, it was among wardrobe essentials for the likes of Blur and Oasis, but its iconic sense had long since passed into the mainstream, and it took more than the clothes to impart a sense of rebellion among fans, most of whom owned one themselves. Later, and in more recent times, The Strokes used the leather jacket in their imagery, but when they hit the scene in the early 2000s, their style was moulded on seventies rock nostalgia rather than any true ownership over it. Similarly, when Arctic Monkeys discovered their love of Americana and Alex Turner scraped his indie hair back into an Elvis-influenced quiff and wore leather jackets for promo shots and magazine features, it was almost wholly in tribute. Now, in 2013, it’s rare to see a rock star in a leather jacket. Need a cheap and easy way to toughen up One Direction for a movie premiere? Stick one of them in a leather jacket. Trying to make Ke$ha seem like a sexually liberated forward-thinker, powered by the spirit of the sixties? Leather it is. Look back to the sixties and seventies and you’ll see a symbol of revolution - where now, you’re more likely to see the likes of Justin Bieber or Chris Brown wearing a leather jacket on another pointless red carpet for a pointless launch of a pointless product. But despite its current status (and a round of applause for The 1975 for doing all they can to bring it back to chic), the leather jacket has earned its place in the music history books, in the way no other item of clothing has or ever will. Acclaim and adoration for the likes of Elvis, The Stones, Ramones, Blondie and The Sex Pistols continues to this day and as long as their music, influence and look is celebrated, the leather jacket will be respected, honoured and coveted in the very same way.
Michael Baggs, Music Journalist 45
Cathrine Alice Liberg, Visual Artist
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Katherine Melanรงon, Artist
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Stefano Venturi, Photographer
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Christina Ioannidou, Artefacts & Jewellery Designer 49
Is Pleather the new Leather? The devil-may-care attitude is back and so is the leather jacket or has it never left the scene? Its versatility is exactly what makes it such an integral part of our closet and the perfect nine-to-five staple to take us from our grocery shopping to a cocktail party with an ease. But, color and cut aside, what is that makes the leather jackets differ from each other? Upon first glance the leather itself looks the same but there is more in the material than meets the eye. Real leather of course is a beloved option but the industry has many alternatives readily available. So let’s see what these options are. Polyurethane to start with, known in the market as PU-leather, is a highly durable, eco-friendly material that can not only substitute leather perfectly but has also advantages over it. PU-leather might not develop the same patina and luster the real leather does with age, but it will not crack or lose its color from the UV rays and it is known for the little maintenance it requires since it is a stain-resistant but at the same time washable material. In most cases it comes thinner than real leather which makes it less heat/ cold protective, thus it offers higher protection from rain. Second most common material to substitute leather is the Polyvinyl Chloride or shortly PVC. The fact though that it cracks easily and cannot breath or be cleaned make it a poor imitation of leather. And as if this is not reason enough to exclude it from our options, the toxic chemicals it leaches are known to create a myriad of health problems; from migraines to Alzheimer and from cancer to problems in our reproduction system. So what is this “something” that makes us choose pleather over leather or vice versa? The history behind the leather hides a deep misconception. The chemical processes of faux leather are not the only harmful ones for the environment and our health. The process of real leather often includes formaldehyde, mineral salts, cyanide-based dyes and coal-tar derivatives that are used to preserve the leather, all of which are hazardous. Therefore the green faux-leather alternatives are growing in popularity. Cork fabric for instance is produced from thin sheets of natural cork and apart from being hypoallergic and waterproof it also allows amazing wear resistance thanks to its physical structure. Its durability is similar to real leather which is a reason it is also called Cork Leather. Though it doesn’t have many further similarities to real leather (cork fabric comes from wood in the first place) this material is one of the top choices for the vegans because it’s smooth to the touch and it doesn’t come from animals. Ocean leather is another form of leather which is made of plants like seaweed or kelp. On the other hand there are designers who prefer the combination of 70% acrylic-30% wool insets for their leather jackets like Junya Watanabe, without letting their products lack neither in style nor in quality. Long story short, no matter if you are a vegan, an activist for PETA or just another interested-in-(p)leather buyer, one thing is for sure: the industry will keep you satisfied. As cuts and colors may vary so will the materials. Last weekend I met a friend that confessed to me she can’t stop buying leather jackets although she already has five of them. When I asked her if it was because of the color she told me “No, it’s about its form, its touch and what it oozes when I wear it”. Now I know. Who said we have to stop at one? Electra Kosmidou, Chemist
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Nikolas Aleks, Photographer
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Ignazio Arizmendi, Fashion Editor
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CONTRIBUTORS
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p.5 Paul Joyce Stylist, Art Director & Brand Consultant UK paul-joyce.com p.6 Bertha Carasso Stylist, Sales Representative & Social Media Executive for Qube Greece p.7 Adam-Peter Hicks Photographer UK adampeterhicks.com p.8 Timothy Wang Menswear Designer UK timothywangmenswear.blogspot.co.uk p.9 Jack Moss Writer UK p.11 Char Alfonzo Director & Photographer USA char-alfonzo.com p.12 Number 3 Dimitris Papadopoulos & Yiannis Kondilis Greece www.number3store.com p.14 SCANDEBERGS Stefano Colombini and Alberto Albanese www.scandebergs.com/ p.15 Filep Motwary Journalist, Blogger, Photographer Greece www.filepmotwary.com www.unnouveauideal.typepad.com
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p.16 Natalia Thomaidi Fine Artist Greece www.nataliathomaidi.gr p.17 Sophia Korkoriadou Fine Artist Greece p.18 Thom Hadfield Writer Uk p.19 Stathis Tsitinis Fashion PR UK p.20 Cameron McMillan Choreographer UK www.cameronmcmillan.com p.21 Stergios Vrizas Lyricist UK anagoga.tumblr.com/ p.22 Eni Villaneau Ink drawings, Drawings, Animation, Installations UK basilbus.tk p.24 Ioanna Koptsi, MBPsS (DCoP) Psychologist Greece www.ioannakoptsi.com http://thebestofyourself.blogspot.com p.27 Amy Neill Stylist UK amyaliceneil.com p.28 Lynsey Coke Visual Researcher, Designer & Stylist UK cargocollective.com/cokelove
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p.29 Emily Cox Womenswear Designer Australia p.30 Florian Hetz Artist German p.31 Christos Politis Journalist Greece p.32 NOFFUN UK www.noffun.com p.33 Domenico De Chirico Teacher, Online Editor & Assistant Gallery Director Italy dustmagazine.com/blog p.34 Clara Canderan Illustrator, Graphic Desigher Italy p.35 Jason Hall Menswear Director UK p.36 Markella Samartzidou Photographer Germany p.37 Nicolò Parsenziani Photographer Italy parsenziani.com p.38 Lucia Calfapietra Iluustrator Italy cargocollective.com/luciacalfapietra
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p.39 Eleonora Kanaki Fashion & Beauty Editor at Glow Magazine Greece glow.gr p.40 Catherine Hammick Journalist UK p.41 Rickardo Maxwell Stylist rickardomaxwell.com UK p.43 Nunzio del Prete Menswear Designer UK nunziodelprete.blogspot.co.uk p.44 Chrys Christodoulou Visual Artist UK chryschristodoulou.wix.com/chrys p.45 Michael Baggs Music Journalist UK p.46 Cathrine Alice Liberg Visual Artist Norway cathrineliberg.com/ p.47 Katherine Melançon Artist Canada katherinemelancon.com/ p.48 Stefano Venturi Photographer UK halbermench.tumblr.com/
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p.49 Christina Ioannidou Artefacts & Jewellery Designer UK www.christinaioannidou.com p.50 Electra Kosmidou Chemist Germany p.51 Nikolas Aleks Photographer Germany p.52 Ignazio Arizmendi Fashion Editor Spain ignazioarizmendi.com
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THE LEATHER BIKER JACKET
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