The leather jacket
Styles and their men
Although it now features in wardrobes across both sexes, leather remains a powerfully masculine material — and its origins explain why.
The leather jacket was born roughly a century ago, arriving alongside motorcycles and aeroplanes. No coincidence. Beyond its toughness, leather is also an insulating material that the motorcyclists and aviators of the early twentieth century relied on to keep out the cold. At the time, horsehide — widely available and unrivalled in durability — was the material of choice.
After the war, in the United States, leather jackets appeared on the backs of absolute icons: the perfecto on Elvis Presley and Marlon Brando in The Wild One, the aviator jacket on James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, then, through the 1970s, Travolta and rockers of every stripe. Leather was everywhere — sensual, virile, and unapologetic.
The 1980s seized it and draped it on stars and models, sometimes with too much extravagance — yet left behind the distinct sense that leather could say almost anything. Not just "No future".
Iconic skins and silhouettes
The material matters. Leather comes in every variety and quality. Today, cowhide, calfskin, lambskin, and pigskin dominate the market, treated as full-grain leather, split leather, suede, or nubuck. Exotic skins are highly sought after by haute couture for luxury goods — but their trade fuels a damaging traffic in protected species that legislation continues to struggle against.
The cut of a leather jacket is a statement. Among the most iconic: the rebellious perfecto, with its asymmetric zip closure and pockets — originally black, though fashion has subverted it for decades. The adventurous aviator jacket, naturally brown, features ribbed cuffs and hem to keep out the cold, with its wide shearling collar. The bomber, with its punk spirit, draws inspiration from it but features a small stand collar. Straight-cut leather jackets and leather coats, meanwhile, lean into a resolutely modern — even dandy — aesthetic.
Choosing Balibaris leather
The Balibaris leather jacket, though inspired by a classic — the teddy, the traditional two-tone varsity jacket of American campuses — has been refreshed and refined in the finest way. It feels current, and perfectly attuned to the modern man: at ease, with nothing to prove.
Cut from impeccable quality leather (LWG-certified velvet goatskin), it delivers a look that is both understated and distinctive — equally at home with a chino or a pair of jeans, a clean shirt, your favourite t-shirt, or a men's wool jacket.