Vintage 1950s Goatskin Leather Motorcycle Jacket, Band Collar, Grey Riri Zips

Cut from heavy goatskin and closed with early grey Riri zips, this is a clean, purposeful European motorcycle jacket, most likely Swiss or Italian and dating from around the [1940s or 50s]. There's no label to say who made it, but everything about it was designed for riding, and it has a lot of honest life in it.

The zips are one of the best clues to its age. Riri was founded in 1936 in Mendrisio, in the Swiss canton of Ticino, a few miles from the Italian border. Its name comes from two German words, Rippe and Rille, for the ridges and grooves at the heart of a zip. In the 1940s Riri introduced a new generation of die-cast zinc zips, so strong that they were first used for military and specialist purposes before finding their way into leather goods. Zinc gives them their dull, gunmetal grey, quite different from the polished brass and nickel of later decades, and they are usually found on early jackets like this one.

The leather is the heart of this jacket. Goatskin has been prized for centuries for being extremely durable and yet soft. It covers the oldest surviving European bookbinding, the seventh-century St Cuthbert Gospel, and in the twentieth century it was chosen for hard-wearing flying and riding jackets because it is tough without being stiff. This one is thick and black, with a deep, pebbled grain, and years of wear have given it a rich, glassy patina across the chest and sleeves, with fine creasing and light abrasions where it has moved with the rider.

Every detail is made to keep the weather out on the road. The low band collar closes at the throat with a double snap tab, so it sits close with nothing to flap in the wind. The sleeves are zipped, and the cuffs adjust with double snaps, so they can be closed tight over gloves or left looser. Two curved flap pockets sit at the waist, each with a zip beneath the flap to keep the contents secure while riding. At the back, buckled adjusters on each side of the waist draw the jacket in close. The jacket was relined at some point in its working life, a sign that someone thought it was worth keeping going.

A heavy, honest riding jacket with early Swiss hardware, and a surface that only decades of wear can produce.

Condition & Restoration

Very good vintage condition, with a beautiful natural patina.

The goatskin is strong and supple, with a well-worn, distressed character and light abrasions from years of riding, all adding to its look rather than taking away from it. The Riri zips, the collar and cuff snaps, and the back buckles all work as they should. The jacket was relined at some point in its life, and the lining is sound.

Professionally cleaned and conditioned in-house.

Key Features

• European motorcycle jacket, most likely Swiss or Italian
• Heavy black goatskin with deep pebbled grain and natural patina
• Early grey die-cast zinc Riri zips with rectangular pulls
• Band collar with double-snap throat tab
• Zipped sleeves
• Adjustable cuffs with double snaps
• Two curved flap pockets, each with a zip beneath the flap
• Buckled waist adjusters at the back
• Relined during its working life
• Approx. [1940s–50s]

Garment Measurements, Laid Flat

• Chest, armpit to armpit: 21" / 53.5 cm
• Shoulders, seam to seam: 17.5" / 44.5 cm
• Sleeve, shoulder seam to cuff: 22.5" / 57 cm
• Underarm seam to cuff: 17.5" / 44.5 cm
• Back length, base of collar to hem: 23" / 58.5 cm

Best suited to: 38" chest, regular / Size Small

Fit: A slim, close-fitting rider's cut with a short back, made to sit neatly in the riding position.

For the best indication of sizing, please compare the measurements above with a similar jacket you already own. For any sizing questions, please get in touch.