I'm going to tell you something.
After seeing Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive , I thought I could look as cool as Ryan Gosling. And that was mainly through the shiny jacket embroidered with a yellow scorpion that he wore throughout the film. So, I set out in pursuit of a similar jacket, just for me, that would immediately transform me into a thug with a big heart.
Only here: I'm not Gosling.
And every time I put on one of these jackets, I looked as credible as Michael Cera on a Harley Davidson.
After thinking about it, I couldn't see myself with this pack leader's jacket on my shoulders, this jacket for leading an extraordinary life, for breaking down and saving the world from the apocalypse... validating my transport ticket all mornings on the bus.
Not possible. Ciao the charismatic criminal in the moon in sequence shot. Bye-bye Kavinsky soundtrack.
Despite everything, and after drying my tears, searching with all my strength for the object of my desire, I was able to develop a certain fascination for this jacket that Gosling was wearing. Not so much his, with the scorpion, but this type of jacket in general.
By digging a little, I was able to learn that it was the souvenir jacket, a flamboyant post-war jacket with mystical embroidery full of colors and secrets, born from the violent and fertile encounter of American and Japanese cultures.
Enough to trigger an obsession, right?
The fabulous history of the souvenir jacket
Mick Jagger in the 1960s with a souvenir jacket on his back.
Like many items of clothing in men's wardrobe, the origin of this jacket is military.
Except that she has never experienced the battlefield. And for good reason: it had no practical use linked to the exercise of war but a purely aesthetic and reminiscence vocation, since it is a souvenir brought home. Hence its name.
According to legend, this fabulous story begins with the will of a single man at the end of the Second World War. It was an American marine stationed at the Yokosuka naval base who had the idea of having his feats of arms and his personal interpretation of Japanese culture embroidered on his baseball jacket.
" I think it initially started naturally in the cities in which Americans were based who wanted to bring back a typically Asian garment. And, over time, Asians began to make more and more American models to please to the GIs. The first ones from the 40's are neither lined nor reversible, with two watteau pleat pockets on the chest, wooden buttons. Little by little, they were lined, then padded and then made reversible from the Korean War. "
One way or another, the souvenir jacket was born.
It was the company Tailor Toyo (then called Kosho & Co) which was behind the first souvenir jackets. Here, I show you part of the 2017 lookbook! Yes, it is still active.
What is certain in any case is that, quickly, the demand for these jackets exploded. It is even said that tailors used excess parachute canopies to make more, giving the jacket its shine thanks to the parachute silk.
“ The most beautiful are made of silk (very common in Asia at the time), acetate (wood fiber) or even rayon (known as viscose in Europe). ”
In the excellent book Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style by W. David Marx , illustrator Yasuhiko Kobayashi, a witness to this era, recalls “ Yokosuka was crowded with young marines - many Americans who spent their time wandering around. They wore thug clothes like jeans, and whistled and swore. ”
They also wear the famous souvenir jackets.
And, while these jackets are humiliating to the Japanese people, something extraordinary is happening.
These jackets intrigue young Japanese from the fashion movement called " sukaman"
This is how it goes from the status of a souvenir object to that of a symbol of rebellion against mainstream society and then acquires a new name: that of sukajan (or sukajyan).
And it doesn't stop there: with the film Buta to Gunkan (Pigs and Battleships - 1961) by Shohei Imamura, who dresses his main character in a sukajan, the souvenir jacket definitively enters Japanese culture and gains national notoriety. Soon it took on the same status as Marlon Brando's leather perfecto in The Wild Team (1953): it was the jacket of rebels and delinquents.
In the center, the character of Kinta, member of the Hitori gang, in the film Pigs and Battleships. The plot takes place in Yokosuka and tells of the relations between American soldiers and the Japanese underworld.
And the story is still not over.
With the Korean War (1950-1953) and that of Vietnam (1955-1975), the GIs had new souvenir jackets made, using as a blank canvas the 9oz cotton of their field jackets (including the very famous M- 65)
The themes chosen leave less room for myth and symbols since they are mainly battle maps, menacing eagles, and cartoons. Or Marilyn Monroe riding an A-bomb.
And, more disastrously, we now also find inscriptions such as "When I die I'll go to heaven, because I've served my time in Hell" ("When I die, I'll go to heaven, because I've served my time in Hell") I did my time in Hell"), which reflect the stagnation of an interminable conflict and the cry of horror of young people confronted with the Vietnam War.
Why is the souvenir jacket fascinating?
Because it is a means of personal expression
Well, I'm always very hesitant to say that you can express your personality through clothing. To tell you the truth, I don't think this is really possible. Perhaps apart from expressing a more or less high degree of eccentricity and self-confidence, but that is of course reductive.
I must say, however, that with the sukujan , we still get pretty close.
In my opinion, for those who really know its story and who have chosen theirs carefully, it produces the same effects as Nicolas Cage's python skin jacket in Wild at Heart ( Sailor and Lula - 1990) .
The actor is wearing a python jacket which actually belongs to him. And he convinced David Lynch to have Sailor Ripley, the main character, wear it.
In the film, Sailor repeatedly expresses that this snakeskin jacket is " the symbol of her individuality and her belief in individual freedom ."
And I think that wearing the sukujan these days, in the same way as Sailor Ripley, expresses one's attachment to individual freedoms, including the first of all: that of dressing as we see fit!
Because she is heroic and sensitive at the same time
As children, we have a special relationship with clothes. They are endowed with protective magical powers (coats are armor, satchels are shields). Or, more often, they increase children's physical performance tenfold: for example, these are “fast running shoes”, which we have all been able to test one day in our lives.
There is therefore a playground mythology whose main vector is clothing. The world is enchanted and clothing is a means of accessing it.
And, in my opinion, this is exactly the role of sukujan for the adults that we are.
In our disenchanted world, the sukujan extends this playground mythology and gives its wearer heroic power: it is the phoenix reborn from its ashes, it is the koi carp which brings good luck, it is the immortal dragon , it’s the man-eating tiger!
We turn our jacket over to show the tiger when the time comes to fight. Photo Japan Lover Me.
However, it is not only that: the sukujan also reflects the sensitivity of the person who wears it.
When you think about it, it was originally made of silk: a delicate, lively and soft material. It is the metonymic representation of the wearer's skin, of the sensitive surface of his being. This is the man as we see him on the surface. And, on the contrary, the embroideries are testimonies of what truly characterizes him, deep down, at the bottom of his heart, what he really is as a person: these are his tattoos. What he chooses to show or not (reversible function of the jacket).
For example, in Drive , when the main character has just beaten up a guy with a hammer and he has just revealed to the viewer for the first time his violent and excessive nature, the jacket, highlighted by a fixed shot on Gosling's back rises as the character breathes, making the embroidered scorpion move as if it were alive, like a tattoo on the skin that moves with you. He is a being who is both sensitive and heroic (in the mythological sense of the term).
Because it's a unique piece in the men's wardrobe
The jacket is made of a two-tone main material (often), shiny and delicate, a strong aesthetic dimension is attached to it (the embroidery) and its history is military! It's impressive, there's no denying it. If we add to this that it is a rare piece, if we want an original, then we obtain an ultra niche product, not to say hipster.
Very fashionable use of the souvenir jacket. Just a bit hipster.
Think about it: we have few pieces of this type in men's wardrobes. And I often envy the heterogeneity of a woman's wardrobe, who can afford so much more than we ever could.
What saves the souvenir jacket from falling into the abyss of vulgar pieces, like the dragon shirt for example, is having on its side the weight of history and references to American and Japanese cultures.
What I like about the sukajan is that, in a man's wardrobe, it is a real “designer” piece. For that alone, I would like to own one. Not you ?
What has become of the souvenir jacket today?
So yes, we could say that the historical context no longer being the same by definition, these jackets no longer have the same flavor. And that's not wrong. But the fact remains that they are still beautiful objects with a story worthy of being told (if we exclude the most fashionable versions aimed at generation Z).
In Japan
Young Japanese with his sukajan (Photo Japan Lover Me)
The sukajan are not dead. No sir. The proof in this funny recreational video dating from February 2017.
In Japan, you can buy them as souvenirs in tourist Tokyo
Efu Shokai, Switch Planning and Tailor Toyo are the main manufacturers still operating. They of course publish copies of the originals, but not only that, since they also draw inspiration from bikers, tattoos and rock culture in general. Because there is, definitely in this jacket, like an inexhaustible wind of freedom. Even if it has become a symbol of the Yakuza, widely relayed by cinema.
The range is also developing: today we see the appearance of the sutajan (“stadium jumper”), which takes its roots from the sukajan, but with, as a medium of expression, the thick, wintery varsity jacket.
" The most widespread (because it mainly comes from the 1950s and was widely reissued in the 80's) is the bomber jacket. Varsity is for universities, Teddy is a purely French word which has no meaning when talking about a jacket in English (for them a Teddy Jacket is a sheepskin or grizzly jacket), Stadium is for sport. The term "bomber" simply defines the fact that the jacket has a ball shape due to its shape. ribbing around the waist).
In the rest of the world
In 2016, we saw the souvenir jacket in the Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Stella McCartney fashion shows, to name a few. And Issey Miyake from 2015.
Issey Miyake campaign from 2015. We can read "Sukajan, the clash of cultures".
Since then, she has also been seen on the backs of famous pop artists like Harry Styles, Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus.
This last information would also be a sufficient reason not to wear the souvenir jacket.
Where to find it anyway?
Don't rush to the first one, because the embroidery is like a tattoo on the skin. You can of course always leave it in the closet, but then you would prevent someone else from the ecstatic pleasure of wearing it.
Because it's the kind of piece with which there is a real emotional dimension, reinforced by the irrationality of wearing a piece like that: it is not particularly practical, it is not not versatile, nor does it fit easily into the context of our societies today. And what's more, it's fragile.
But I'm pretty sure that in the long term, we will give it as an inheritance to our children. That’s the beauty of this piece.
I advise you a couple of things all the same:
- Try to find a reversible one , with a sober side and a downright epic side. That way, if you have a sense of showmanship and unfortunately end up in a street fight, you will turn your jacket around (literally) and be able to enter the fight with power.
- Forget the quality/price ratio , it's a favorite purchase that you don't buy for its technicality. And, very often, those found in thrift stores and stores, at decent prices, are made of polyester or nylon to give a shiny appearance to the piece.
- Instead, opt for vintage pieces more closely linked to the history of sukajan. And also, the shiny appearance will be somewhat diminished by the years, which will help you wear it.
Sukajan stall in Yokosuna on Dobu Ita street.
In Paris
" If you want souvenir jackets from the 40s and 50s in Paris it's impossible to find apart from a miracle. You can come across some from the 80s and 90s, but the fashion for GI's died down at the end of the 80's and it There weren't as many American bases in Asia from that point on."
So all you have to do is get one online.
In Japan
I would dream of being able to bring it back from Japan. This would truly be, for me, the best way to choose it. I'm putting aside this sweet dream for the moment, as a trip to Yokosuka is not planned at the moment. But you, you never know, maybe you are there, you are going there soon, have a friend there who can take care of finding a nugget for you.
If you're going to Tokyo, Harajuku and Shibuya thrift stores are a good place to start. Otherwise, go to the Nakano Broadway, Takeshita-Douri, Okuma Shoukai and Ameyoko market districts.
If you go to Yokosuka, it's impossible not to pass by Dobu Ita Street, where you will find stores like Prince Shokai and First Shokai in particular.
On the Internet
This is of course your hunting ground most likely to bring you results.
For a vintage piece (it costs around a hundred euros), you have Etsy , Ebay , Grailed and Japan Lover Me .
For new items (very variable in price, depending on the work, the luxury reputation of the brand so not necessarily always relevant), you have to look at eshops like Mr Porter , Farfetch, End Clothing
Apart from the Japanese brands Efu Shokai, Switch Planning and Tailor Toyo, you have to look according to the seasons : Edwin , Levi's , The Real McCoy's , RRL , Beams+ , Studio D'Artisan , Blue Blue Japan
Souvenir Bomber in rayon, silk and velvet from The Real McCoy's , very beautiful but very expensive.
How to wear it?
What do you do when you're not a morose, statuesque American movie star? Well, as someone who likes to wear, from time to time, pieces that are out of the ordinary, I wouldn't necessarily risk wearing the souvenir jacket. Or, a reversible with a really sober side and a really artistic side.
In this jacket, there is a lot of boldness, and so you have to be sure of your personal style, of what it is, of what wearing this jacket will change in people's perception of you. With her, the disguise is close at hand and you must prepare to distort your own image.
If you want to wear it anyway, and that's great!, then here's how to do it in my humble opinion:
- Contrast the shine of the jacket with rustic and matte materials: denim is perfect, cotton in general or wool for example.
- Be simple in the rest of the outfit: jeans, a t-shirt and... that's it.
- For the shoes, I think that the white sneakers here wouldn't really work, because they would look too adolescent. Thick, workwear-inspired derbies will do the trick. Or better: boots!
- Stick to a very limited color palette.
- Also avoid: sunglasses that are too flashy which could give a vulgar side to the room, too flashy.
Example: if your souvenir jacket is in shades of navy blue and white (which I recommend), perhaps it would be wise to wear it with raw jeans and a white t-shirt. Or even the opposite, white jeans and a navy t-shirt. This way, we have a coherent outfit in which the souvenir jacket fits well.
This is crucial to not being disguised. This is the main pitfall of such a piece. Here's how to do it in photos:
This is what you have to do. Of course, the sweater tied at the waist as a fashion accessory is optional. More than the hat by the way. But without these, the outfit is easy.
On the left: a simple outfit that matches the colors of the souvenir jacket. Typically what to do. Boots echo the military past of the jacket and contrast with the delicacy of the shiny material. Right: the Pitti souvenir jacket, white pants and moccasins. Chances are he's wearing a t-shirt. That's how I would wear it anyway.
Small selection
I can't resist the urge to offer you a few, even if this jacket is mainly aesthetic, it will be up to everyone to fall in love with theirs.
Reversible Souvenir Jacket from Kiriko Made , for $525
Souvenir Bomber from the Maharishi brand, which has the merit of offering a wearable jacket. £415
Souvenir Bomber Beams Plus x Tailor Toyo on Grailed in S at $240.
The final word...
Interesting story of the souvenir jacket, don’t you think?
I wanted to write this article because pieces of this scale are rare in men's wardrobes. And, I know that nowadays the shine of these jackets has faded somewhat, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to find my own sukujan. Chances are I'll never wear it, but it will be my personal superhero costume.
Finally, I wanted to ask you a question related to this jacket: do you really think that a piece of clothing, an outfit or clothing habits can faithfully reflect a personality? When can clothing express more than what it was created for, which is to protect?
I'm curious to have your feelings on this last point and on the history of the souvenir jacket, of course!
