Schott NYC (Schott Bros) is an American clothing manufacturing company located in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The company was founded in 1913 by brothers Irving and Jack Schott. Schott NYC was the first company to put a

zipper A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of textile, fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and other Bag, ba ...

on a jacket and they created the classic

Perfecto motorcycle jacket Perfecto is a secondary brand of "lancer fronted" leather motorcycle jackets designed by Irving Schott and manufactured by American clothing company Schott NYC. The first jacket was introduced in 1928,Fashion in Popular Culture: Literature, Me ...

, which was made popular by films such as ''

The Wild One ''The Wild One'' is a 1953 American crime film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. The picture is most noted for the character of Johnny Strabler, portrayed by Marlon Brando, whose persona became a cultural icon of the 1 ...

'' (1953). The company made clothing for the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and later also for American law enforcement. Schott NYC is still owned by the Schott family and still manufacture much of their clothing in the United States.

The Perfecto motorcycle jacket

Schott NYC is perhaps most well known for their

s. In 1928 Irving Schott designed and produced the first ever leather

motorcycle jacket A leather jacket is a jacket-length Coat (clothing), coat that is usually worn on top of other apparel or item of clothing, and made from the leather, tanned hide of various animals. The leather material is typically dyed black, or various shad ...

, he named it the "Perfecto" after his favorite

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...

. The jackets were made out of horsehide, had a belted front, D-pocket, flap change pocket, zippered sleeve cuffs and shoulder

epaulette Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of military rank, rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''sh ...

s. This classic

was a double riders jacket design which meant that one part of the front zipper was located a couple of inches in. When zipped up this created a seal where no air would pass through when riding a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

. In the late 1940s a new design was introduced - the 613. It was nicknamed "the One Star" because it had a star on each shoulder

. In the early 1950s another version of the jacket was introduced - the 618. The 618 had no stars on the shoulder

s. Stores that carried the jackets often had problems with people stealing the stars of the 613 so the 618 became more commercially viable.

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

wore a 618 in the movie

(1953), the stars on his jacket were not original but added to the jacket. There has been no word on where this jacket is today. Because of the film, which was the first

outlaw biker An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...

movie, the black

became synonymous with bad attitude and was banned from many American schools during the 1950s. U.S. seminal punk rock band

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

wore Schott Perfecto leather jackets as part of their distinctive uniform look. Japanese rock band

Guitar Wolf Guitar Wolf ( Japanese: ギターウルフ) is a Japanese garage rock power trio founded in Tokyo in 1987. They coined the phrase "jet rock 'n' roll", which they use to describe their musical style. The band is signed to Sony Music J ...

have their own 613 Perfecto design called 613GW.

Other classic jacket designs

During

Schott NYC (being one of several contractors) manufactured the wool naval

pea coat A pea coat (or peacoat, pea jacket, pilot jacket, reefer jacket) is an outer coat, generally of a Navy blue, navy-coloured heavy wool, originally worn by sailors of European and later American navy, navies. Pea coats are characterized by short le ...

for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

.International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 67, Jay P. Pederson, Gale, 2 Feb 2005 These classic designs are still manufactured by Schott NYC today. Another classic jacket design manufactured by the company is the

Café racer A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

leather

. Café racer jackets are single rider jackets that have a stand-up collar.

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

wore a Café racer style jacket in the movie

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American independent drug culture road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American So ...

(1969).

External links

References

{{Reflist Clothing companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in New York City Clothing companies established in 1913 1913 establishments in New York City