Of Kate Moss’s many enduring wardrobe staples, her leather jackets are among the best. If Mossy was your style muse in the ’90s and Noughties, chances are that you too owned a zip-up biker jacket. The same goes for those who worshipped Blondie, the Sex Pistols or Joan Jett in the ’70s. Good news for 2022: the biker jacket is back again, so prepare to reap the benefits if you held onto yours.
Just look to the spring/summer 2022 shows for proof. Sarah Burton channelled the London grit of her late predecessor Lee Alexander McQueen at her spring/summer 2022 presentation, via structured leather jackets with look-at-me lapels, pockets and collars. For added biker chick appeal, Burton paired a cropped leather jacket with a frou frou tulle skirt and heavy-duty stomper boots. That same Hells Angels energy was also apparent at Balenciaga, where creative director Demna offset slinky mesh tops with oversized leather jackets featuring dropped shoulders and baggy sleeves.
Prada proposed a new approach to sexiness with a collection entitled Seduction, Stripped Down, presented simultaneously in Shanghai and Milan. Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons sent models down both runways in tailored biker jackets with a raw, worn-in feel. The accompanying duchesse satin mini skirts – complete with trailing trains – were the perfect, prim counterpoint to that beaten up leather.
Miuccia’s schoolgirlish Miu Miu showcase included biker jackets, too. Amidst the brown ultra-mini skirts and cropped jumpers in uniform regulation grey, a slim-fit stone-washed leather jacket arrived with a matching pleated skirt, a collegiate V-neck knit, grey socks and T-bar shoes. (Only the most daring Miu Miu fan would straddle a motorbike in that particular ensemble.)
Simone Rocha gave the traditional biker a refreshing update with puffy sleeves, statement lapels and a hemline that skimmed below the waist. At Richard Quinn, a Mossy-esque cropped jacket was studded and spiked, styled with matching zipped trousers and a bonnet. And at Acne Studios, look 12 incorporated a crinkled and cracked white biker jacket with accentuated shoulders.
Naturally, king of leather Rick Owens reinterpreted the motorcycle jacket for spring/summer 2022 – he showed a brilliant white style with peaked shoulders. Of course, attitude-laden leather jackets have been Owens’s signature since the late 1990s – he told the New York Times in 2015: “My leather biker jacket really is kind of the DNA and starting point of my collection. I’m proud and happy that everything I do still kind of goes with that jacket.”
London talent Supriya Lele, meanwhile, completely subverted the trad silhouette with her tangerine take: it featured a hook-and-eye closure at the sternum, midriff-flossing straps, a buttoned collar and an open shoulder. Lele styled the power piece with matching trousers and a peppy green ruched bralette.
Now, a spring/summer 2022 caveat: this season’s biker jacket is not paired with skinny jeans à la Kate en route to the Groucho – the A-list is now living in baggy jeans. If you’re putting together an edgy after-dark look, then pair a motorcycle jacket with your favourite mini skirt or dress. Extra grunge points for adding stomper boots.