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As things wind down a bit with Collateral, I'm still taking a bit of time to experiment and work on ideas and techniques just to cross them off of my list while learning something new.
The most recent (successful) work is a shape-molded Horween washed leather jacket.
I first fully constructed a leather jacket using Horween (Chicago, IL) black horsehide with scarring and a beautiful irregular grain. I then cold water washed the jacket thoroughly before placing the jacket on a form to approximate the human torso. The jacket was then slow dried over the course of two days on this form with constant rotation and repositioning.
The result is a change to a dull luster with almost a powdery surface to the leather. The leather also took on soft wrinkles with exaggeration of some of the innate grain to the leather. Very minimal shrinkage (1/2" on the sleeves, 1" on the torso) and the leather increased slightly in structure.
Upon wearing the jacket, it fit snug, but still true to size. With movement, the parts of the jacket overlaying joints stretched gently and thus resulted in a garment that truly allows the wearer to "break in" the piece and have it actually move and give with the wearer's specific body.
Definitely doing this the very first time was a big risk since the entire jacket could be potentially destroyed by the process, but the result was definitely worth it all. This particular piece will most certainly become my go-to leather jacket once the weather cools down!
The most recent (successful) work is a shape-molded Horween washed leather jacket.
I first fully constructed a leather jacket using Horween (Chicago, IL) black horsehide with scarring and a beautiful irregular grain. I then cold water washed the jacket thoroughly before placing the jacket on a form to approximate the human torso. The jacket was then slow dried over the course of two days on this form with constant rotation and repositioning.
The result is a change to a dull luster with almost a powdery surface to the leather. The leather also took on soft wrinkles with exaggeration of some of the innate grain to the leather. Very minimal shrinkage (1/2" on the sleeves, 1" on the torso) and the leather increased slightly in structure.
Upon wearing the jacket, it fit snug, but still true to size. With movement, the parts of the jacket overlaying joints stretched gently and thus resulted in a garment that truly allows the wearer to "break in" the piece and have it actually move and give with the wearer's specific body.
Definitely doing this the very first time was a big risk since the entire jacket could be potentially destroyed by the process, but the result was definitely worth it all. This particular piece will most certainly become my go-to leather jacket once the weather cools down!
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