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A short history of leather jackets in the 20th and 21st centuries
Leather Jackets are a specific type of apparel, a coat or jacket made from genuine leather. Leather jackets are now offered in a variety of color, including red, white, blue, etc but are usually a brown or black color. Leather jackets can be styled in a many ways, and different patterns been associated with different subcultures and even political movements. For example, leather jackets are associated with bikers, military pilots, rock stars, punks and police, who have worn versions designed for protective purposes and occasionally for their intimidating appearance.
In the 20th century leather jackets achieved iconic status through Hollywood. Examples include the motorcycle jacket worn by Marlon Brando's Johnny Strabler character in The Wild One, Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale in The Avengers, and Michael Pare in Eddie and the Cruisers. As such, these all served to popularize leather jackets in Western culture. A later depiction of this style of jacket and time was Henry Winkler as Fonzie in the television series Happy Days which was produced in the 1970s and 1980s. The Happy Days leather jackets are housed in the Smithsonian Institution. Furthermore, the Grease movies also popularized leather jackets.
Today, the majority of leather jackets are produced in Italy, Turkey, Argentina, India, Pakistan, China and the United States.
The leather jackets worn by pilots and members of the military were brown and frequently called Flight Jackets as seen on numerous stars such as Jimmy Stewart in the Night Passage. The brown leather jacket, typically an A-2 flight jacket has been a typical part of the Hollywood adventurer, from Gary Cooper in For Whom the Bell Tolls to Harrison Ford in the Indiana Jones film.
There are many more examples of classic leather jackets worn in popular culture, such as the one worn by The Terminator and the longer length trench coat style worn by action heroes such as Steven Seagal, and Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne in The Matrix films. Another example is the leather jackets worn by Brad Pitt in Fight Club, where Tyler Durden constantly appears with different variations of his red leather jacket. Other famous leather jackets include those worn by members of the Black Panthers, punk rock groups such as the Ramones, the Libertines, and various members of heavy metal subcultures. In most pop culture examples, the leather jackets are worn by people cultivating an intimidating and violent image.
There is a substantial difference between leather jackets made for fashionable purposes and those worn for protection. Leather jackets designed for protection are safety equipment and are much heavier, much thicker, sometimes even armored, thus becoming a very practical item of clothing regardless of the symbolism. Leather Jackets primarily designed for fashion is unlikely to be of much use in an accident.
Leather jackets were also popular with the Russian Bolsheviks and were nearly a uniform for the Communists during the Russian Civil War and later for the members of the Cheka-a practice which would be copied by German secret police organizations in WWII.
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