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Brand Profile: Alexander Leathers

Brand Profile_Alexander_Leathers_Rope Dye (2)If you have ever read my short bio bellow you will see that something I am very proud of is being from Scotland. As a Scotsman living abroad it puts into perspective the general good impression people have of Scotland and its people, history and of course the Whiskey. Slightly less known is the rich traditions of craft and the industrial heritage that Scotland has. Most, if not all heavy industry has vanished, however the small craftsmen remain keeping alive traditions and skills which could so easily have fallen to the wayside. All of these crafts require skill, patience and time. All of which seem to be counter to the modern view of how things should be done. Therefore it gives me great pleasure to write about a home grown brand which still carries those qualities of craftsmanship, Alexander leathers.

We first became aware of Alexander Leathers during our tour round the Bread and Butter Berlin in July. Michael, Thomas and I came across Steve and Will. They were kind enough to give us a full run down of their jackets, where the design came from, the leather, the craft and the history behind each design. The jackets were something else entirely, the kind of quality you have to see and feel in person. The weight, the leather and the craft spoke of really skilled people who love what they do.

Of course we kept in contact after the show and recently Steve was kind enough to take a break from his busy schedule to have a chat and give us a brief rundown of Alexander Leathers.

Brand Profile_Alexander_Leathers_DenimhuntersYourself and the staff at Alexander Leathers clearly have a passion for well crafted garments with history, how did it all begin?
“Will and I worked together back in the day at Aero Leathers, I started there as the junior and worked through all aspects of the business including as a machinist for 6-7 years. I left to follow another career path after 12 years but never lost my passion for leather jackets. Fast forward 15 years or so and I bumped into Will again, who had met by chance Sandy Alexander, the creator of Schuh, the fashion footwear business. We all got talking about a new leather business and here we are.”

Brand Profile_Alexander_Leathers_DenimhuntersWhat is the concept of Alexander Leathers?
“At Alexander Leathers, we all share a passion for vintage styled leather jackets – it’s the core of the Alexander ethos. However, we appreciate that the customer needs comfort and functionality to meet the demands of everyday wear. Therefore, we recreate our jackets as true to the originals as possible and we also incorporate an updated modern fit and a few tweaks on some of our styles to meet today’s exacting standards. If a customer requests an original fit then we can accommodate that too.”

There have been a lot of questions, supposition and general buzz over the last year as to why there was such a mass exodus from Aero Leathers resulting in Alexander Leathers staffing. Would you care to clear it up once and for all?
“This is a long story, but in a nutshell, after 30 years at Aero, Will left that company. Why? Many reasons, one of which is he could no longer work in the environment in which he found himself. He joined Alexander Leathers and 86% of his long serving co-workers at Aero chose to follow him and join us at Alexander. Read into that what you will. Enough said.”

Brand Profile_Alexander_Leathers_DenimhuntersWhat was your motivation to launch the brand?
“In the art of recreating vintage leather jackets there are customers that are pretty hardcore, they demand exact original detail, fits and materials. This is great as that is our core business. However, we felt some of the styles were appreciated by a different type of customer who demanded the same quality and style but required up to date functionality, which perhaps wouldn’t be appreciated by the enthusiast to the same extent. We wanted to accommodate all tastes without constraints but still remain relatively true to the original. Alexander Leathers strives to do this as part of its aim to bring the highest quality product to the market.”

Where are the jackets produced?
“All our jackets are produced entirely at our factory in Selkirk, Scotland. Each jacket is individually hand crafted from start to finish by one of our specialist machinists and then signed upon completion by the maker. Collectively, our team has 242 years experience between them in the art of vintage leather jacket construction.”

What inspires the styling and fits from Alexander Leathers?
“Our inspiration comes from a diverse range of sources. Our team holds a wealth of knowledge for starters, each member of the team having a wealth of experience in the vintage clothing industry including design and construction. We also draw inspiration from original classic jackets, books, films, customer feedback and ideas. Once again it’s a continual process, our quest to create the classics of the future is unending.”

Brand Profile_Alexander_Leathers_DenimhuntersIs there a jacket you feel defines Alexander leathers and why would that be?
“No, I don’t think there is one particular style that defines our brand. All our styles are carefully chosen and recreated because we believe they carry merit and as a collection they define Alexander Leathers.”

We understand that you can customise your jacket to a certain degree, what optional extras can an Alexander Leathers customer choose from?
“There is a whole host of custom options. Obviously, there are different leather and lining options but we can also adjust the body and sleeve length, we offer hardware options such as brass, antique, silver and refinements such as thread colour and pocket configuration. Provided a customer’s request is in keeping with our styling and what we are about, then pretty much we can accommodate most options. If we are not entirely comfortable with the request we may still do it, but would probably not put our standard Alexander Leather brand label on it. However, the customer would get the same high quality and attention to detail as our standard jackets with a reference to Alexander Leathers, this way the customer gets a totally bespoke jacket to their taste and specification and everyone’s happy, which is the way we like it.”

Horween-Excel-Black-Close-Denimhunters
Horween
sheepskin-seal-Denimhunters
Sheepskin
Smooth-Steerhide-Black-Close-Denimhunters
Smooth Steerhide Black
Crazy-Steer-Close-Denimhunters
Crazy-Steerhide

Can you tell us a little about the leathers you offer? Does one particular leather lend itself to a certain type of jacket?
“We offer quite an extensive range of leathers and we have sampled a few and discontinued some for one reason or another, and that’s a process that will be ongoing. We tend to endorse the heavier quality leathers with a full grain finish in the main. Horween leathers are particularly suited to our styles and the quality is exceptional, the best there is in our opinion. With respect to matching a leather to a particular style, it’s all down to an individual’s personal preference and, as I’ve mentioned previously, we try to accommodate all tastes…..but we do have our reputation to uphold so there are limits!”

Brand Profile_Alexander_Leathers_DenimhuntersWhat do you recommend your customers to do regarding breaking in their leather goods?
Treat ‘em bad.

Are there any up-coming or unknown brands that you think are worth looking into?
Not sure we are the best guys to answer this one, as we are not fashion led. However, we do love classic style and appreciate really high quality. There are some real quality brands out there, the likes of Edwin, Viberg, Momotaro, Johnson Motors Inc and Ironheart to name but a few.

Brand Profile_Alexander_Leathers_DenimhuntersWhere will Alexander Leathers be five years from now?
Unfortunately I don’t have a crystal ball but I’m pretty confident we will be doing what we are doing now and what we are best at, and that’s making great leather jackets.

Thomas was so impressed he immediately placed an order for the black Roadster made from smooth Norwegian horsehide, a 4 pocket classic which can be seen in the images throughout this article.

You can keep up with news and have a good look thought their entire range on the website here. Of particular interest are the product videos where you can see videos of most models and how they will fit and fall when worn.

Images from Rope Dye and Alexander Leathers.

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12 comments

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Dr Denim October 4, 2013 at 15:58

All their jackets are rip off’s of Aero Leather designs it seams , nothing original there .

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Me October 5, 2013 at 20:33

I don’t agree. Also are you saying all of Aero’s jackets are original? I think not. I am a fan of many leather manufacturers including Aero, Alexander, Schott, Lost Worlds, Vanson etc. Many of the designs of many makers have been around for years. They all put their own twist on them. If Alexander makes a quality product for a decent price I am all for it. I know they do as I have a Roadster.

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XYZ October 5, 2013 at 23:15

Most of the above is, at best, pure fiction. At worst it is damned lies, by folks ( named WILL) who should realise that they can’t avoid the long arm of the law for much longer. Stealing “designs” might be a moot point, but stealing the friggin’ patterns is straightforward theft.

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Dh October 5, 2013 at 23:54

Are Aero jackets not copies of originals? As a follower of Rope Dye whoever is leaving the comments sounds a little bitter??

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TrustMeI'mADoctor October 7, 2013 at 00:52

Really, who cares? They’re so desperate to be mistaken for a superior product that it’s pathetic Their jackets are, at best, poor Xeroxs of Aero’s, and yet they claim to be one and the same. Talk about trading on somebody else’s name? Quite outrageous.
Let’s face it, Will thought he had sunk his old company through mislabeling and the steer-horse scandal, and he’d persuaded a number of the staff that this was the case. The fact that Aero are not only still here but since Will’s departure have doubled the amount of designs they have shows exactly who was the talent and driving force behind the company. As they say: Act in haste, repent at leisure.

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Laura Brighton October 18, 2013 at 19:17

Alexander Leathers is a top notch establishment. Good luck to them all!

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Obi Wan October 7, 2013 at 18:41

As an owner of both Aero ( 6 currently) and Alexanders ( 8 currently) I can categorically say they are both makers of fine leather jackets. Aero’s current offering is much more true to the vintage styling of the 20’s and 30’s ( hookless zippers etc.) whereas Alexanders offering is vintage quality but with a modern twist. As far as the above being truthful .. as always there are two sides to any story … so long as they contimue to make great leather jackets I’ll be interested. So far Alexanders quality, price point and also their speed of turnaround have sold me so far. I wish them well.

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Robert October 8, 2013 at 01:44

Incredible How much Aero cannot take Competition. They are over a year behind on orders and thats not because they are doing well.

Alexander took all of the talent and when a company has a mass exodus of its Veteran Employees, it is a sign. Usually that a tyrant is returning.

No one knows the true story, but one this is for sure, do not put it past Aero to fabricate and do all they can to ruin the reputations of these ex employees who are making a superior product with far better customer service.

Just cant stand when employers go straight to defamation of character when employees leave.

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Dr Denim October 15, 2013 at 14:46

No can deny that the quality is good , the machinists are all Aero trained and they are making Aero Jackets . . As someone that has been stung by the folk that have moved to Alexander i for one will not be trusting them . You just don’t know what you will be getting . Aero did a great and honorable job of remaking my jacket Will Lauder sold me a steer jacket labeled as Horsehide ( i wasn’t the only one ) .

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Dr Denim May 5, 2015 at 10:21

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/aladdins-cave-of-stolen-goods-discovered.124990881

Seems to explain a bit more about Will Lauder and why he ‘left’ Aero

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