Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man Jacket in Black and Orange Leather

The Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man jacket is a black and orange leather motorcycle jacket, in the style worn on screen in the 1991 film of the same name. Ours is our own design in that style, with a stand collar, a centre front zip, contrast striping across the yoke and sleeves, in sizes XXS to 3XL.

Where the shape comes from

The jacket in the film is a racing leather, not a club jacket and not a Perfecto. That distinction is visible in three places and it is what makes the shape work. The collar stands rather than folding, because a fold down collar lifts and beats against the neck at speed. The zip runs up the centre rather than sitting offset, which is the racing arrangement, since an offset zip on a Perfecto exists to give a double breasted storm flap the rider does not need at track speed. And the panelling across the yoke is structural, not decorative. Racing leathers are cut in sections so the hide can be shaped around the shoulders while the wearer is leaning forward. Contrast striping across the yoke and down the sleeves came from the same place. Team colours had to read at distance on a moving rider, exactly as they did on the club jackets of thirty years earlier. Black with orange is a high contrast pairing that holds up in poor light, which is why it turns up repeatedly in motorsport.

What ours is, and what it is not

This is our own jacket, cut in the style of the racing leathers of the period and of the one seen in the film. It is made under our own label. It carries no logos, no wordmarks, no patches and no script. It is not official merchandise, it is not licensed, and we have no connection to any motorcycle manufacturer, tobacco company, rally organiser or film studio. What you are buying is the garment: the leather, the cut, the colourway and the striping, honestly described. We do not reproduce other companies marks on clothing. If you are looking for a licensed product, buy it from the licensee.

Panelled leather ages differently to a single panel jacket

Worth knowing before you buy, because it changes what the jacket looks like in three years. A panelled jacket has many more seams than a plain one, and seams are where a leather jacket shows its life first. The edges soften, the stitch line stands slightly proud as the hide relaxes around it, and the colour lightens fractionally along each run. On a plain black jacket that reads as wear. On a panelled jacket in two colours it reads as definition, because the seams sit on colour changes and the softening picks those changes out rather than blurring them. This style improves with use in a way a single panel jacket does not. The trade off is repair. More seams means more places that can eventually need restitching. Any competent leather repairer handles it, but it is not a five minute job, so keep the jacket dry and stored properly and you will not need to find out.

Orange leather fades faster than black

This is the honest limitation of the colourway and nobody selling one mentions it. Dyed orange and yellow leather is less lightfast than black. Left hanging in a sunlit window through a summer, the orange yoke will shift towards a duller, browner tone while the black body stays where it is. The two panels then no longer look like they were made together. Nothing about that is a manufacturing fault, it is how those pigments behave. It is also completely avoidable. Store the jacket away from direct light, which means a wardrobe rather than a hook by a window, and it holds its colour for years.

Fit

Racing cut, which means closer through the body and shorter in the back than a standard bomber. The sleeves are cut with a slight forward curve at the elbow, drafted for someone leaning onto handlebars. That forward curve is worth understanding. Standing upright with your arms down, the sleeves will feel very slightly short and the elbows will feel a touch tight. That is correct and it is not a sizing error. Put your arms out in front of you and it resolves. Take your usual size for a close fit over a shirt. Go up one if you intend to wear a hoodie underneath, because there is no room for one at your normal size.

Care

Condition it twice a year with a leather conditioner, and more often if you ride in it. Wipe rain off with a dry cloth and let the jacket dry at room temperature, never on a radiator or in front of a heater. Store it on a broad hanger with air around it. Never in a plastic cover, because plastic traps moisture against the hide, which is what causes mould and stiffening. Do not machine wash it and do not attempt to clean the orange panels with anything solvent based. Colour lifts off dyed leather far more readily than it does off black, and once it has lifted no conditioner brings it back.

Specification table

Specification	Detail
Outer material	Genuine leather
Lining	Quilted polyester, full body and sleeves
Closure	Front zip
Collar	Snap-tab
Cuffs	Open hem
External pockets	Two pockets at the waist
Internal pockets	Two inside
Back detail	Embroided
Colour	Multi
Fit	Regular, takes a mid weight layer
Sizes	XXS to 3XL, plus made to measure
Care	Condition twice yearly. No machine wash, no heat drying

Garment measurements by size. Measured flat, in inches. These cells stay empty until you send production figures. Publishing a measurement that is wrong causes returns, so I have not guessed.

Size	Chest across	Shoulder	Sleeve	Back length
XXS	40	18	25	25
XS	42	18	25	25
S	44	19	25	26
M	46	20	26	27
L	48	20	27	27
XL	50	20.5	27	27.5
2XL	52	21.5	27	28
3XL	54	23	28	29