No helmet required

Fall – when fashion gals north of the equator get that girlish goody-goody giddiness of grabbing their long-lost long-sleeves. Reunited, and it feels so good. A most wonderful time of the sartorial year gets fuel-injected this season with high-powered leather jackets. Biker jackets in particular continue to rev up the runway with modern tweaks and polished design for a look that’s clean, contemporary and quintessentially cool.

Glossy black with metal accents is, of course, the traditional approach. Structured shoulders lend a tone of power – intimidation, even – and there’s something so slick about that asymmetrical zipper. The allure of edginess leads many a good girl to go bad, and many a bad boy to get the girl.

Burberry, known for its iconic outerwear, innovates the look with characteristic tip-top tailoring, buttery leather and luxurious details like shearling, snakeskin, quilt lining and shiny nickel stud work. Sculpted, belted and cropped, these jackets offer cuts for all body types and colors for all tastes, including white, tan, oxblood and tourmaline yellow.

Obviously divergent from their Fonz-inspired predecessors, these pieces are decidedly more posh, even Euro chic. (Fonzie’s remains a legend of Americana in its own right, considering it’s enshrined in the Smithsonian.) But while designers have evolved the look for the modern woman, they’ve retained that vibe that lets us channel our inner rebel from Peter Fonda in “Easy Rider” to punk icon Sid Vicious and rocker Alison Mosshart.

Tap into “Top Gun,” too, with another jacket on trend this season – the bomber. Also historically made of leather, and also antecedent to the biker, these high-speed sports jackets have been reimagined in couture via silk, satin, quilting and embroidery. Some roomy, others tailored, the runway caught a fleet of them for fall, full of feminine textures and fits.

So are you a haute Hells Angel or modern Maverick? And do you really have to choose? Try both if you dare – and with no fear of helmet hair.

Written By
More from Andrea Kennedy
Icy hot
Whether you call Henrik Lundqvist an NHL all-star, Olympic gold medalist, the...
Read More
Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *