The Perfecto

After Denim Jeans, here's another episode of innovation born from chance crossing paths with utility. Another case of serendipity—Tatin tart, as you well know—coming to us from America.

The Perfecto leather jacket borrows all the codes of this rule which obeys precisely no rule.

At the beginning of the last century, the Schott brothers ran a leather clothing store in New York. Sons of Russian immigrants, there's no doubt that resilience and dreams of a bright future filled their nights and days. Indeed, during the day, one of the Schott brothers, Irving, had two passions: cigars and motorcycles. One doesn't necessarily lead to the other. Groucho Marx or Winston Churchill, unrepentant cigar smokers, weren't bikers, as far as we know. On the other hand, our Irving liked to hang out, cigar in mouth, at the local Harley-Davidson dealership. It didn't take much more for the two friends to come up with the idea, around 1920, of making a leather jacket for tough bikers, so they'd be ready to face the brisk air and sometimes even hit the asphalt. The Harley dealership placed a massive order, kickstarting the Schott brothers' success. Irving designed a garment with features reminiscent of how the Jean and the Pea Coat were also designed to protect as much as clothe.

Made from the most durable horse leather.
Very tight fitting, so as not to float or swell like a balloon with speed in the wind.
A leather belt with an integrated buckle, ensuring adjustment.
A wide collar, the points of which are fitted with snap fasteners so as not to flap in the wind and slap the intrepid.
Closure with an oblique zip offset to the right, forming a double thickness of leather, so that the bib is more waterproof. Sleeves tightened at the wrists thanks to a leather strap, bikers have been saying since the advent of the motorcycle that their obsession is to fear any gust of cold air via the wrists and the collar... they have so much to fear once they get going! Zipped pockets including a small one on the right to quickly pull out change at toll booths...

The Schotts didn't stop at this initial success; they designed and produced bomber jackets for airline pilots and contributed to the production of pea coats for the US Navy. We even learn that they launched goose-feather parkas. They didn't rest on their laurels, which is rarely the case among bulimic entrepreneurs.

The specifications of this leather jacket, indisputably functional and full of virtues, have not, however, resisted sociology and the infamous amalgamations.  

"In 1953, Marlon Brando showed off in The Wild Bunch, followed in 1955 by James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause."

Two markers in the history of cinema that would influence the rebels of the times that come and go. In the 70s, our bouncy Wild Cats sang Twist in Saint Tropez. It was more joyful than the Hells Angels strapped into their jackets who have on their conscience the murder of a spectator at the Stones concert at Altamont… but do they have a conscience? Then came the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and others, who added chains and studs to their imitation black leather armor in case no one had understood their chants “fuck the system” and “no future”. The climax around 80, with Schwarzenegger in Terminator with shoulder pads on steroids and his “Hasta la vista Baby!”… Irving Schott’s jacket deserved more than to end up as an emblem of bad boys in music hall and cinema, because the reputation of the Perfecto had become bad. There are even reports that middle schools in the posh East Coast have formally banned students from wearing it.

Fortunately, a new generation, fond of diversity and color, began to rehabilitate this garment, made for wide open spaces, not for divisions.

In this case, we can always count on Yves Saint-Laurent to blow the beautiful and good wind of femininity.

His collections of leather jackets became iconic, on the pretty shoulders of Cindy, Linda, Naomi, Kate, Claudia… why not us! H&M, Mango, Zara, Zadig & Voltaire (…) did not hesitate to jump on the bandwagon and it was good. Ah! I almost forgot one important thing. The Schott house, as a shrewd entrepreneur, did not fail to register its trademark and the name of its jacket. Irving called it "Perfecto", after the Cuban cigars he smoked in series. Only the Schott brand has the right to exploit "Perfecto", which it still does with consistency and pride. Despite all the protections that Intellectual Property owes to a brand name, it can, however, do little against the language of the street which always insists on appropriating the obvious. Perfecto will have suffered the same fate as its more famous colleagues, Frigidaire, Escalator, Botox, Mobylette, Santiago ... entered our everyday lexicon, cutting the ground from under the feet of intellectual property. It will be objected to the legitimate defenders of these names that they will be powerless against frigo, mob or santiag, the ultimate consecration of these diversions! The same goes for our Perfecto, which has become a "perf".

And then, it was our turn to add a Perf to our collections. We really wanted to; we like to reinterpret the men's wardrobe, as you know. We wanted our Perf to be "perfecto," more in the sense of ideal than perfect, in good Spanish. The ideal is a promise; perfection is not of this world.

Times have changed; the new Perfectos must stand out from any sterile rebellion and align themselves with eco-responsibility. This is the new ideal. True to our credo, zero waste, the skins of our Perf come from unused stocks of a major French Maison (Chanel, not to name it) after verifying that the animals were indeed dead at the start, not deliberately slaughtered and that the skin treatment process complied with all applicable standards. In addition, it was entirely produced in Paris, its design, its canvas, its pattern, its manufacturing, all on our doorstep just-in-time. It was made at my friend Alain's Parisian workshops, whom I have known for over 10 years, and for whom I have the greatest respect. We are proud that our beloved Irving has already won over many of you.

Take care of yourself, always.

CH