History of Lewis Leathers Part1
Most important brand "Lewis Leathers" in history of British culture.
Derek Harris, the 5th generation owner, tells tradition and innovation.
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Text:Andrew Bunney Photo:Tommy Translation:Mayumi Horiguchi
- We brought out the Bronx jacket with an American name for this market, but the design was different with a couple of important details. Some American jackets have action pleats on the back, but they weren’t as big as the Bronx. Kids wanted to look like TT-riders who had clip-on handlebars, which meant you needed to be very low, almost on the tank, which you couldn’t do in an American jacket, as their jacket was too restrictive. So the Bronx was tailored in a different way. And although it had a belt because they wanted the American look, the belt buckle was covered metal because it would otherwise scratch the petrol tank. So this was clearly a stylistic point that was different to the American jackets. The Bronx led to the Thunderbolt, which was still a bit American looking. There was the Brooklyn jacket, the Detroit jacket, but by the early 60s, Brit Pop started with The Beatles and all this stuff. Suddenly English kids weren’t so bothered about America and were proud of coming from Liverpool, London or Manchester, and the jackets had dropped all the Americanised labelling and quickly took on other names without American connotations.
From then on, it was purely English styling. The Lightning jacket had the 4 belts pulled over to the side - again to keep them away from the petrol tank. No American jacket had styling like that. I don’t know whose idea it was to come up with it. The buckles themselves I’ve seen in catalogues from the 20s, and you would use them with a hemp strap as a quick-release locking buckle. So they’d been around for ages for securing things to bikes or cars, but somebody took that buckle and put it onto the motorcycle jacket, which I think was terrific. And that is still an extremely distinctive British-styled jacket.
- A :
- How about some of the other later styles? They look quite European…
- D :
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I always thought that some like the Sportsman and the Monza were very much of a European type. However, as one’s research goes forward and forward, I’ve now got jackets from the 30s and 40s that are almost identical. Not as streamlined, but pads on the shoulder and elbows, Mandarin collar（＊6）, Lancer-fronted but buttoned up rather than zipped as zips were too expensive in those days. We’ve even got catalogues from as the 20s with jackets with the same layout as the Bronx - this was a flying jacket for the summer, you see. Because D. Lewis had been doing this so long, they were always recycling patterns and blocks that they could just call upon and say ‘use this’ or ‘change that’ or ‘this pocket from here’. So the roots of the Bronx go back to the late 20s.
＊6：Mandarin collar…Chinese color, Mao color
- A :
- What is your favourite Lewis Leathers item?
- D :
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I guess it’s my 1930s catalogue. It’s the only one I’ve ever seen in the world. I found it in a bookfair in Bloomsbury. I was just going around with my business cards and a lady said, “I think I’ve got something”. Two weeks later she phoned me up, I paid £5 or something and this thing came through and I nearly fell off my chair – all early flying clothing, goggles, that kind of thing.
The second thing is a 1920s flying suit with a “D. Lewis Ltd” label with flying planes skywriting. And the early Bronx’s that I’ve got are really special because it really marks the end of the old world and the beginning of a new world in a way. The mid 50s with the advent of teenagers was a really important thing leading up to Punk rock and I’m very interested in youth cultures of Great Britain. I see that the Rockers thing was one of the first steps on the road to Punk and the Bronx jacket is very much an icon of that period.
- A :
- Is there anything you’d love to have in your personal collection?
- D :
- I think it’s more of the old flying gear. I’ve pretty much got most of the motorcycling jackets.
- A :
- Sid Vicious’s jacket?
- D :
- Well, that’d be great. I’ve got an old Bonham’s catalogue from 1988 when it went for sale. I think they wanted £1500 for it. I couldn’t have afforded it then, but that would’ve been a lovely iconic jacket to have owned. I don’t think something like that will ever happen. I get a kick out of the flying things now, because I feel like I’ve done the Rockers stuff - I’ve done about 18 years on it. Now I’m finding the pre-1955, WWII period fascinating, the zippers, the casual stuff, not just the flying gear. I can enjoy all that stuff now. It’s all unchartered territory.
