We can often look to TV to help us through the winter slog, something to fill the time while many abstain from pubs and have gotten bored of their new year’s resolutions.
Masters of the Air, the Apple TV+ World War II drama starring Austin Butler, Callum Turner and Barry Keoghan, was what caught the attention of the sofa-bound this year, and not just because it was the welcomed return of film-making duo Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Amidst the ‘taches, there was some lovely outerwear.
Hardly surprising for a show about American bomber pilots, flight jackets were aplenty.
Costume designer Colleen Atwood started the design process nine months prior to filming, using real-life photos of pilots from the 100th Bomb Group as inspiration.
“I had really good references for each of the main characters, which was really rare and incredible,” she told WWD. “Luckily these guys had the best looking uniforms ever – like really great and beautifully made uniforms and details – but it didn’t exist in the world. The A4 [flight jackets], which are the simple leather jackets, are out in reproduction and they’re still popular, but the big jackets with the shearling inside — which was the symbol of the 100th — weren’t.”
The star of the show – worn on the backs of many stars within the show – is the aforementioned shearling number: the B-3 jacket. Specifically designed for high altitudes and released in the forties, the silhouette was fitted with a shearling lining for cold conditions and yet its cropped hemline stops it from looking overly bulky.
And so, the progression from war heroes to style icons started, later confirmed when Steve McQueen donned one in The War Lover in 1962, and the pilot’s uniform has barely wavered since.
In today’s age, the likes of Tom Hardy and Arnold Schwarzenegger have all worn the aviator staple, while it was only last week that Arsenal’s right winger Bukayo Saka wore one to Burberry’s autumn/winter ’24 show.
Original, shearling flight jackets have been a menswear collectable for a long time, partially due to, as Atwood mentions, their lack of availability. But you can thank the fashion forward for thinking ahead.
They were gliding the autumn/winter '24 catwalks at Kenzo, Lemaire, Loewe, Officine Générale, Tod Synder and Dunhill in January, just before the show's release. Some brand's predicted the trend before the season called for it, promptly offering plenty of delightful options so you don’t have to waste time hunting for vintage styles on eBay.
To really benefit from the jacket's warming capabilities, you should probably invest in real sheepskin – and yes, that’ll come with hefty price tag. Bode offers a chocolate style that’s inspired by designs from the forties and fifties but has a contemporary feel to it, primed for those who are more up to date on what’s trending on Tik Tok than the history of WW2 air force. For a more traditional style, Burberry is your best port of call for its vintage look – it’s also what said footballer wore to the brand’s show.
Thankfully, there are plenty of options from Mango, COS and Gant if you’re not ready to delve too deeply into your pockets, all of which will easily slot into your wardrobe and pair well with everyday basics. Because you don’t need a pilot license to give off the air that you can control a fighter jet. The jacket does that for you.
Bottega Veneta Auckland Shearling Jacket
Reiss Shearling Double Buckle Jacket
Loewe Shearling-lined leather jacket
COS Shearling Bomber Jacket
Gant Heavy Shearling Jacket
Mango Shearling-Lined Jacket
Celine Homme Shearling-Lined Textured-Leather Bomber Jacket
Bode Leather-Trimmed Shearling Jacket
