James Dant x Shangri-La - Custom "Yang Café Racer" Leather Jacket - Natural Veg Tan

James Dant x Shangri-La - Custom "Yang Café Racer" Leather Jacket - Natural Veg Tan 

We worked long and hard to get this collaboration to its launch. It's been nearly a year since we started discussing plans for a custom jacket with Shangri-La. To be honest, it all started with the liner. We saw this houndstooth pattern and thought..."my goodness that would look amazing in red." So we had Marko and the gang scrounge up some samples for us. We settled on this brilliant, vibrant red that we knew would give you that happy feeling every time you pull it out of the closet.

The next step was deciding on a silhouette. We waffled back and forth so many times between the "Café" and "Chiodo" for weeks. All we could imagine was how much of a rockstar you would look in the "Chiodo" with a "red liner." And that is what ultimately made our decision to go with the "Café." Not all of us are rock stars. Not all of us feel like putting on a costume every time we walk out the door. I'd venture to say...most of us want something hard-wearing that goes with everything...something with enough solid details to give you that tingly feeling when you pick it up but not enough to stick out like a sore thumb. It was always going to be the "Café" as it was our first love. 

We had a good idea of which leather we wanted to do, but the question was...do we just do one or do we crank it up a notch. The Veg Tan was the first choice from the start. We absolutely love the way a veg tan ages - always have, and always will. This product ages like wood taking on all the scrapes, scratches, and imperfections of time. It also deepens in color in the sun. Don't believe us...check the pictures of the exact same Lambskin Veg Tan in the pictures after being kicked around and rubbed in the sand. Eventually, if you wear this enough throughout the years it will become a deep brown verging on black. That's the brilliance of Veg Tan. It is the Yang to the black versions Yin.

We're so excited to be sharing this project with you. The good people at Shangri-la made our vision come to life. They did all of the hard work...the hardest being this leather clean during the cutting and sewing process. It's a joy to work with our good friends in Italy and see our brainchild come to life. 

Please note, there will be variations in the leather. This could mean that one jacket is lighter or darker than the other. The leather seems pretty consistent from what we've seen, though. There is also going to be color transfer from the zippers to the leather. It's completely unavoidable, but doesn't make the jacket any less desirable nor change the fact that you will pick up colors, stains, and aging that will rival and even surpass those marks. This creates a "1 of 1" piece exclusive to you. 

Every Jacket comes in a high-quality 100% organic natural cotton Bag, laced with Havana rope and with a screen printed logo.