The Future

[Nickb123]

The leather jacket has stood the test of time up until this point. Most of us find them very pleasing and fascinating, and no doubt they have enriched our lives to varying degrees. There will probably always be a small group of people REALLY into them like us, and I'm sure these future generations will appreciate any bit of knowledge, history, and insight they can find about these garments.

With time, most or all of these jackets will be in a state of disrepair or obsolete. The repro companies we're fortunate to have today may not be kicking in 100 years. Leather goods may become scarce, outlawed, or quality worth of enthusiasm might slip through the cracks. Future generations may only have the internet (if it's around), press, or passed down oral knowledge to get their jacket fix, granted there are people still interested in the subject.

Should we be actively doing everything possible to archive our gathered knowledge now, for the sake of enjoyment of future generations, just in case? What are ways this can be done? Is it worth it? Am I worrying too much?

I think a good part of it, for me personally, is this desire to contribute somehow to the jacket world, and I'd hope I gave something back after being spoiled from all of this greatness.

 

[Andrew]

Two words- Mad Max. They'll love leather in the future!

It sounds like you're worrying a little too much about it. I'm sure that there will be a substantial appreciation for old stuff in all it's forms, just as we look after relics from several hundred years ago. Hopefully though we don't lose a lot of leather due to climatic conditions- mould etc...

 

[Superfluous]

While style preferences will certainly change, leather jackets are here to stay for the foreseeable future. Moreover, notwithstanding the emergence of certain avant garde brands and styles, there will continue to be a treasured place for flight and moto jackets, among others, and a loyal group of devotees to carry the torch.

 

[colekwok]

I am not too worried about the future of leather jackets. On the contrary, I think the popularity of leather jackets with classical designs are on the up again. I also do not see the supply of leather will drop as the consumption of meats around the world keep on rising all the time. Even the fashionable designer jackets still carry most of the resemblances of some 30s-40s' jackets. The retro trend will still carry on for at least a few years.

On the other hand, vintage leather jackets will be tougher to find as nickb123 said, that is why the prices of those jackets just keep on rising all the time. But if you look carefully, there is a huge community of vintage lovers/collectors in Japan whom have been doing exactly what you said. I bet that they have the largest stock of US WW2 flight jackets than the rest of the world combined, and they DO know how to preserve those jackets. You can ask a couple of members here who are located in Japan that what we are missing in the west. Sometimes I find it a pity that some of those vintage dealers in Japan do not deal with overseas buying at all. They also have monthly magazines (such as Lightning) and special issues which contain valuable information and history about the jackets that we love.

 

[Nickb123]

I just hope people continue to archive their knowledge about these jackets so the history isn't lost.

 

[colekwok]

I just hope people continue to archive their knowledge about these jackets so the history isn't lost.

Well, frankly, we should have something like a vintage jacket wiki type of webpage. We have a collective of very experience collectors here.