Jacket Required
Finding a fashion-y, pragmatic and lightweight jacket for L.A.'s mercurial Spring can be a bitch. But we've just found exactly 16 that are worth dropping the Prius payment on.
The label is De Rien, which means "It's nothing" in French. But the waxed cotton and linen jackets, which incorporate vintage fabrics like Scottish tartans, are really quite something.
Inspired by period workwear — mainly French in origin from the 1880s through 1940s — along with 1960s biker jackets like the one Marlon Brando wore in "The Wild One," the jackets boast a low-key, French brand of cool. They're also unisex, and look as dashing on gals as they do on dudes.
And, lucky for us, the small British brand (which counts Vivienne Westwood's son and Agent Provocateur owner Joseph Corre amongst its fans) has landed Stateside, making its U.S. debut at the sweet little Feal Mor boutique this week.
The collection, which ranges from $600 to $1,000, consists of sixteen jackets — ten in waxed cotton, six in Victorian indigo linen. "Wax cotton was the original waterproof fabric and linen was the precursor to denim — the sailors of Nim wore much coveted linen work clothes," said co-designer Cosmo Wise, who started the store, De Rien, as a vintage spot to showcase battered-and-patched old French workwear.
Vintage Hounds: Cosmo Wise (middle), his girlfriend and co-designer Kristina Feldman and a friend (left.)
The Indigo linen jackets are made using various linens "I had stashed away," he added, some predating the Victorian era. "The old linens have a quality you do not find matched in the modern market, with a tactile, raw quality they also breath far better than denims. And this is why they were perfect for 19th century workers in the heat of southern France, or modern day California."
The wax jackets feature cropped waists and a biker jacket feel. "The pattern that defined the classic wax motorcycle jacket originated in the navy as the Ursula suit," said Cosmo. "And in a way I'm playing with the interchangeable nature of these jackets. Whether you are sinking U-boats, nosediving a spitfire or acting in 'The Wild One,' there is a common thread that links a heroic attire."
In short, De Rien jackets are a product of the present with lessons from the past.
"What I do appeals to people who love clothes, who love fabrics, who want something unique, original and a little bit exclusive," said Wise. "The streets are awash with High Street imitations — I hear they make hand knitted pullovers for under a dollar in China these days. We are the antithesis to this."
Wise said he literally stumbled upon Feal Mor when he was in L.A., and "was drawn in by the mixture of old and new. With good taste, a shared vision and a new store to boot, i knew i wasn't going to find a better match. Each piece is individual, unique and personal; it just made sense to give it to an independent store we had a personal connection with. This is the birth. We're looking forward to life ahead."