The Smuggler’s Jacket
Technical outdoor apparel meets sci-fi influenced street wear with the Smuggler’s Jacket — a homage to our favorite space rogue. Designed by yours truly, I wanted a jacket with a moto-inspired cut aimed at adventuring anywhere, whether it’s hikes in the mountains to a daily commute on the bike — while still oozing of style.
The ribbing on the shoulders looks super awesome, and gives the jacket a truly unique look. Photo: Marko Knezevic/ Betabrand
I’m extremely fond of soft shell jackets; they’re great for all around use, and the fleece backing makes them comfortable. They work great on a bike too — so long as you’re not working too hard — as they usually have some sort of DWR coating that can keep you dry in the event of rain.
My original sketch of the Smuggler’s Jacket
Most soft shells are pretty utilitarian in appearance, and while they’re great in the woods or out playing, they don’t have a lot of style. The Smuggler’s Jacket breaks that mold and sticks it in a Deathstar trash compactor. Taking style cues from the jacket Han Solo wore in what was possibly the greatest space opera of my childhood, I removed the cargo pockets from the front for a better silhouette/ fit and added ribbing on the shoulders and the elbows that are distinct elements from Luke’s X-Wing Flight Suit.
Betabrand designer Anh Huynh was not just amazing to work with as he helped me with the creation of the jacket but helped improve on the design.
Additional inspiration for the collar came from the recent redesign Jim Lee did for the Justice League in the 52 Reboot in DC comics. (Green Lantern and Superman now have v-necks)
As the jacket is a homage, finding the right fabric and the right shade of blue was key.
I want my clothing to be functional, so it’s cut longer in the back for coverage while on a bike. I hate not having pockets, so the jacket has plenty. There are 3 pockets on the outside that are secured with zippers, as well as inside pockets. Not to mention the shoulder pockets borrowed from our favorite Smuggler’s Jacket that happen to be sized perfectly for a transit card.
Anh did an awesome job interpreting my sketch with the ribbing using pintucks in the construction that give the piece a unique look.
Click here to crowdfund the Smuggler’s Jacket on Betabrand.com.
The sketch made real: the first sample of the Smuggler’s Jacket
About Betabrand
Betabrand is an online clothing community based in San Francisco. They design, manufacture and release new products constantly at the speed of a blog, with products co-designed and crowdfunded by their fans.
