Highlight - 1970s/80s German Punk Leather Biker Jacket

When this iconic biker jacket came through our doors we knew it was something special to behold. A real piece of history that deserves its own little highlight piece, at the least. Conceived from hearing the Sex Pistols on a British military radio bore the beginnings of a punk movement in East Germany that is an underestimated force of the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall. Looking back, it’s inevitable that the forces East Germany’s youth were under at the time would force a revolutionary group of young people to come together, to reject the system completely, and that they did. Quoted from Tim Mohr’s book Burning Down the Haus: Punk Rock, Revolution and the Fall of the Berlin Wall, “In East Germany, punk rock was a way of rejecting the conformity and restrictions imposed by the state. It was an expression of individualism in a society that valued obedience over creativity.” 

This jacket in particular has multiple markings that make it what it is. It’s covered in spray paint, studs, band names, names we can’t decipher; the markings of personal history as well as wider. Years of wear have given it a lived in feel. If you ever needed an example of how well vintage leather can last, this is it. Even though the jacket itself is older, some of the music lyrics/band names suggest it has been loved well up until the 90s. My favourite statement on the jacket being ‘youths against facism’ possibly inspired by the song of the same name by the band Sonic Youth.

The jacket represents an important time in history where self expression was becoming more important, and more eclectic than ever before. Music and fashion have always been an important marker of individualism, but also of political stance, of what we believe in. This jacket is a bold reminder of what fashion can mean; a way of shouting out at the top of your voice ‘this is who I am, this is what I believe, and I’m not sorry’.

This special jacket is available to buy now in store and online.