The Lightweight Leather Jacket So Soft You’ll Wear It Year-Round

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Leather jacket maker Savannah Yarborough comes by the trade honestly: Educated in design at industry-famous Central Saint Martins in London, she was a senior designer at Billy Reid before opening her Nashville-based studio, Savas LLC, in January 2015. Since then her one-off, bespoke jackets have been adopted as a uniform for a clientele including Wall Street bankers, football legend Terry Bradshaw, and musicians such as Jack White and the late John Prine. Because multiple fittings and private consultations can push the wait time to 12 weeks or more, Yarborough has introduced the $2,500 suede Denham, her first ready-to-wear design. It’s meant for the want-it-now customer who doesn’t need custom linings or sleeve sizes measured to exacting standards.

THE COMPETITION

• The $910 suede trucker jacket from e-commerce outlet Mr Porter is an elegant lightweight layer in between seasons. It comes in olive-colored goat suede and has adjustable waist tabs, horn button fastenings, and four exterior pockets.

• A $3,495 Clifton trucker jacket from Ralph Lauren’s Purple Label is made from luxurious suede but looks like well-worn denim. The material is treated by craftsmen in Italy to achieve a unique color variation and chambray texture.

• Billy Reid’s one-pocket suede shirt fits more like a light jacket than something you’d wear by itself—and at $995, it has a price tag to match. Made in Italy with supple goat suede, it sports antique brass snaps and cuffed sleeves.

THE CASE

Modeled after a comfortable denim jacket, the Denham is cut from lamb suede so incredibly soft Yarborough calls it “cashmere lamb suede.” Made entirely by hand in her Music City studio, it has four outside pockets, solid brass snaps, and double-needle stitching. Savas’s signature chain-stitch embroidery lies hidden on the interior in a motif inspired by an art deco stained-glass design. You can choose a different color and have it (remotely) tailored to your size for the best of both worlds: the dedication and attention of a bespoke piece done in half the time—and for just $200 extra. $2,500

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