What is it about the black leather jacket that makes it the ultimate in cool? Why does such a relatively ordinary garment have such a great reputation? Why is it that the minute we put a black leather jacket on, we tune in and turn on to the history behind it and somnehow feel a million dollars… even though leather wear is nowhere near as pricey as it used to be? It all goes back to the early 1900s when brown leather flight jackets, AKA bomber jackets, were worn by superstar aviators, and the military, giving the garment an instant injection of cool-ness.

Abroad, leather jackets were worn by Russian Bolsheviks and almost assumed uniform status for Russian Civil War commissars. Then came the movies, and the men’s black leather jackets already interesting and somewhat rebellious reputation enjoyed another huge boost. Iconic status and general acceptance followed fast with bomber jackets hitting the bright lights on the backs of stars like Jimmy Stewart and Gary Cooper. The Nazis didn’t do black leather any favours but it’s such a useful and practical material that it didn’t suffer the indignity of being associated with the SS for long. And it’s continued to go from strength to strength ever since.

Harrison Ford gave the leather jacket another boost with the Indiana Jones films, closely followed by the scary T-800 character in Terminator. Steven Seagal wears leather in his countless action movies and Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne both sported long leather coats in The Matrix series. Think Brad Pitt in Fight Club and the Black Panthers in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Plus the Ramones and everything punk, where leather biker jackets were commandeered by an entire bike-less, recession-battered generation of punks and made unique using chains, studs, rips, tears and graffiti. Then there’s heavy metal fans and ‘goths’, both of whom have taken the garment to a new and equally rebellious level, teaming it with black leather trousers, chains and an excess of metal studs. And since the 1960s the women’s black leather jacket has also gone mainstream.

These days the black leather jacket is still a symbol of rebellion. But at the same time it’s also one of the smartest bits of kit you can buy. It goes with anything and everything. It keeps you warm and dry. And it comes in more styles than you can shake the proverbial stick at, from high fashion to traditional leather bomber jackets that haven’t changed a great deal since the far-distant days of early aviation.