Schott NYC (Schott Bros) is an American clothing manufacturing company which was founded in 1913 by brothers Irving and Jack Schott - the sons of a Russian immigrant. They opened their store on East Broadway, on the lower East side of New York City. Schott NYC was the first company to put a

zipper A zipper (N. America), zip, zip fastener (UK), 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 oth ...

on a jacket and they created the classic

Perfecto motorcycle jacket Perfecto is a secondary brand of "lancer fronted" Leather jacket, leather Motorcycle personal protective equipment, motorcycle jackets designed by Irving Schott and manufactured by the American clothing company, Schott NYC. The first jacket wa ...

, 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 ...

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

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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, he named it the "Perfecto" after his favorite

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

. 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 rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scale ...

s. This classic motorcycle jacket was a double-breasted design which meant that the left front panel ( with the left side of the main zipper on the front edge ) overlaps the right front panel ( which has the other side of the zipper located a couple of inches in ). This creates a windproof seal while riding, when zipped up. In the late 1940s a new design was introduced - the 613. It was nicknamed "the One Star" because it had metal 'nailhead' star studs 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. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

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 movie, the black motorcycle jacket 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 formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

wore Schott Perfecto leather jackets as part of their distinctive uniform look. Japanese rock band Guitar Wolf 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 is an outer coat, generally of a navy-coloured heavy wool, originally worn by sailors of European and later American navies. Pea coats are characterized by short length, broad lapels, double-breasted fronts, often large wooden, met ...

for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

.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 leather motorcycle jacket. Café racer jackets are single rider jackets that have a stand ( Mandarin ) collar.

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He was a two-time Academy Award nominee, both for acting and screenwriting, and a two-time Golden Globe Award winner for his a ...

wore a Café racer style jacket in the movie

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern. It was produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and the S ...

(1969).

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.schottnyc.com/ Clothing companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in New York City Clothing companies established in 1913 1913 establishments in New York City