• This Francis bomber jacket is assembled using cloth from one of England’s oldest and historied mills. The cloth comes from A W Hainsworth in Pudsey who, among other incredible stories, made the fabric for the Battle of Waterloo soldiers in 1815 and invented the colour Khaki. The cloth itself is a navy barathea wool which holds that slightly textured hopsack weave and is extremely resilient making for a tough but elegant garment that will snap back into shape after wear. It's a lightweight barathea wool giving it more use for a greater part of the year.

    This lining is a 100% Viscose Military Twill, an extremely strong and durable lining seen in modern military uniform including the Queen’s Guards. It is made by the 65 year old British lining company, Bernstein & Banleys.

    The zip is antique brass in tone with a square ended slider. The metal is neither too shiny like nickel or gold zips and retains a traditional feel.

    With worsted barathea wool often employed in the construction of highly formal tailored garments like Dinner Jackets we thought it might play conversely well as one of the most iconic and popular casual jackets, the bomber. The light and natural sheen of the wool lends an air of quality but the most interesting element of the piece is the broken and reformed structure of the pattern pieces creating a chevron paneled effect. Without being too showy the jacket is now individual and intriguing. The stitched lines and and seams where panels meet draw the eye from the centre of the jacket, out towards the shoulder; a technique seen in classic tailoring by the manipulation of peak lapels or the placement of a button.

  • The Madison jacket is created from a navy gabardine cotton. The weave is very tight and the treatment of the fibres give it a smooth look with a hint of natural sheen. Gabardine cloth was developed for the trenches of WWI in an effort to replace the heavy wool overcoats that held moisture and dirt rendering them inefficient. Lightweight but strong cotton gabardine proved to be superior and went on to become the foundation of early sport’s clothing. In particular fishing because a wayward hook would not catch on the flat gabardine surface as it would with a fibrous wool.

    The lining is a 50/50 viscose cupro twill; a high-quality and robust choice from Bernstein & Banleys, a British lining company founded in 1953.

    We offset the gabardine cotton with black lip mother of pearl buttons. Taken from the troca shell, these dark buttons occasionally catch the light and harmoniously reflect the cloth they sit on.

    The Madison jacket is a very forgiving and wearable garment. The strong, durable cotton gabardine lends a utilitarian note to a jacket which is ultimately practical against wind and rain. The shoulder is made soft by the manipulation of pattern panels that run from the neck seam and down the sleeve creating an inverted 'T' shape. Much like a raglan sleeve it follows the shoulder's curves rather than the more defined, angular shaping of an inset sleeve. The top pockets are also of interest as they sit flush with the body rather than sitting on top like a traditional 'patch' pocket.

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