The atmosphere of the place captivated me before I even considered its structure.
Why was it made?
When I decided to delve into flight jackets, the A2 was always part of the plan. One reason was that it's a garment with an enduring legacy. The other was my interest in leather, a field I wasn't familiar with.
Having continuously made woven garments, leather was uncharted territory for me. That's precisely why I had a reason to explore it.
What was referenced?
Upon delving into it, I found that the A2 had the fewest structural discoveries among the flight jacket series.
Looking at the design of the sleeves, there isn't much evidence of an emphasis on mobility. If German military jackets made rationality their defining characteristic, the A2 was the opposite. It prioritizes aesthetic form over function. Despite being combat attire, it exudes a certain formality.
When I tried to decipher its structure,
I was first captivated by its presence.
That was the A2.
What left an impression was the raw-edge finish unique to leather. While woven fabrics are typically serged at the edges, leather can be left raw. The delicacy of not being able to re-sew due to needle marks coexists with the boldness of what can be achieved with a raw edge. The inherent logic of leather as a material was directly translated into the sewing specifications.
What was chosen and what was discarded?
The process of selecting the leather was the same as for the Bundeswehr. Instead of goat, I encountered kip leather in Himeji.
However, for the A2, the impression of it being a "garment with aesthetic form" came first, making the texture of the leather even more important. The smooth, supple feel of kip leather and its finer grain compared to adult cowhide. I felt that its elegance matched the formality of the A2.
The sewing basically followed the specifications of the sampled garment: the finishing where the stitching sits on top of the rib, the difference between the left and right sides of the placket, and the specification of not skiving the seam allowance. Decisions that would not be chosen for woven fabrics are correct for leather. I embraced that logic.
What is this garment?
There's a reason why some garments have enduring legacies. The A2 possesses a compelling presence as a garment, even more so than its structural intricacies. I understood the reason why it has been called a masterpiece even before I delved into it, once I touched the actual item.
What FUKUBORI did was simple. We translated that compelling presence into undyed kip leather. That's all there is to it.
