They’re both timeless pieces and their charm still holds sway over us,
despite various fads coming and going. They’re classic jackets that worn the right way,
can complement a casual or a formal get-up in equal measure.
The Perfecto: Its story stars about a century ago, in Manhattan, when two Russian-born borthers, open Schott Bros, a leather goods company. That’s how the perfecto jacket and all its subsequent “relatives” were born. It was a short leather jacket, with a whole host of diagonally placed zippers and a belt at the bottom. It was adopted as the garment of choice by bikers in 1920, as it managed to protect them from both the weather and the occasional scrape, but it took until 1953 to get adopted at large, when Marlon Brando wore it in the “Wild One”. Ever since, it’s a garment linked with the wilder and rougher elements, being as it was one of the separating factors between the Mods and the rockers in the 60s. Punk took a shine to it as well in the 70s, with the Ramones the most recognizable of fans. Over the last few seasons, we’ve seen it parade down numerous catwalks, holding down a starring role in many collections.
The Bomper: Most of us probably have some style of bomber jacket hanging up in our cupboard. Our older readers will probably have better and sharper memories of it. It was originally designed during the First World War for fighter pilots, but is probably best remembered as being worn by James Dean and his character Jim Stark in “Rebel without a cause”. The look was completed by a white t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. The garment made a dramatic comeback in the 80s, both as an item of choice for scooterboys and skinheads, as well as a cinematic icon on the back of Tom Cruise, in Top Gun. It then moved on to get its hip hop connections, all the while maintaining its widely accepted status as a jacket of choice for a wide variety of people. Up until quite recently, bomber jackets were still trying to force their way into the vast “trend” scene and it finally seems like they’ve made it, with Kanye West singing their praises, Ryan Gosling sporting one as he drifted through “Drive” and many famous designers combining them with haute couture pieces.
Τext: Danae Terzakou
