The Camo Racer

My name is Craig Spring. I am what you might call a free spirit. I do not like to follow the same path as others and have always sought to be my own person. My purpose is to help men express their individuality with custom-made innovative leather apparel that enables them to stand out from the pack. Individuality makes the world a more interesting, exciting, and fun place to live in. It encourages creativity, new ideas, solutions, and perspectives. It also leads to happiness.

I grew up in San Jose, California. Against the backdrop of Silicon Valley and the tech industry, San Jose is a fairly quiet town with its own cool secret places. It is home to several quality thrift stores full of unexpected treasures, fantastic antique shops, independent record shops and retro clothing stores, and a couple Army Navy surplus stores. San Jose (with its neighboring cities) has a few outstanding college radio stations and a tightly knit, thriving punk/alternative music scene. I was intrigued by the fashions of this sub-culture, and it was my first exposure to seeing others wearing black leather jackets. Little did I know that all of this culture had planted the seeds of inspiration deep within me for creative designs to express themselves years later.

In 1985, I bought my first leather jacket. It was a Schott café racer. I wore it in, wore it out, and it served me well for many years. What I loved about it was the rich feel of it, the beauty of the natural grain, and its tough quality. To wear a leather jacket is to transform oneself. We are all familiar with iconic images of dangerous rebels in black leather, like Marlon Brando in The Wild Ones. There is something about it that is much more than just a jacket. It is a statement of self.

Years later since my first Schott jacket, my original fascination with leather has turned into a creative endeavor of making custom leather apparel for a living. This jacket this is my latest creation, which I made just before the Covid pandemic hit. It is a café racer style jacket made from black aniline leather with contrasting sleeves in camouflage printed hair on cow (leather with the hair still attached), and orange shoulder and elbow padding. The materials were imported from Europe, which I purchased from local suppliers. The black aniline leather has a light oil topcoat for protection, that makes it feel rich with a little grip.

The jacket is finished with orange sleeve gussets, a center front wind flap, custom-made sterling silver skull zipper pulls, and is lined in black heavyweight Chinese silk/rayon brocade with gold embroidered dragons. To make this jacket extra special I include one of a kind lettering in the front with stingray inlays, and a retro biker design on the back with the name "Brotus" above it. I call it the camo-racer. CS are my initials, and this jacket is mine!

Remember I mentioned the Army Navy surplus store in San Jose? It was here that I discovered the excitement of vintage military uniforms and equipment. I was fascinated with the WWII worsted wool uniforms, and how incredibly well tailored most of them were. I came across USAF flight suites (from the 1960's) that combined khaki green with orange. I thought the color combinations were really cool and eye-catching. Orange compliments green and it also has an industrialized aspect to it. My initial exposure to San Jose's surplus store inspired the design for the camo-racer.

I spend a good amount of time looking at fashion magazines, and historical information about leatherwear. I see most companies replicating these same styles without much variation. Aside from the specific area of motorcycle racing suits, we seldom get to see the use of different colors and textures incorporated into a single garment. I honor the black leather archetype, it is a wardrobe essential, and it will always have its well-earned place in fashion history. But, please, can we have some new and exciting leather jacket designs? As a non-conforming creative individual, I have no interest in copying or following trends. I want to bring something fresh and exciting to the world.

My approach is greatly influenced by Belgian fashion designer, Walter Van Beirendonck. In interviews he expresses, that his students, at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp - Fashion Department, are encouraged to look inward to the fascinations they had growing up, and design from there.

I may start with one of the classics, but then I integrate my inspirations into the details or the overall style. All the elements of the garment need to harmonize with each other. Color combinations and textures need to work together. Seams and details need to be in correct proportion with each other and the overall garment. The end goal is a garment that is innovative by todays standards, while also being timeless so that the wearer will look cool now and in 20 years.

Designing was the first step I took towards creating the camo racer. A friend from many years ago, had a black leather jacket with white sleeves. It was really cool, unique, and classic. The image of it always stuck with me, and I had originally intended to use khaki/olive green leather for the sleeves of the camo racer. But when I came across the camouflage hair on cow, I immediately knew it would be perfect, and created the official drawing for the camo racer. My vision was taking off!

Once I had my design done, I was ready to start the pattern making. This is the most technical part because it involves lots of measuring seams and applying body measurements to create a good fit. It is also the most time-consuming part of the process, that includes cutting muslins with scissors, sewing them, doing fittings and pattern adjustments, over and over, until the desired fit is achieved. I happen to be very anal about details, and like measuring things, plus I am analytical. Those qualities make pattern making enjoyable. It is also visually creative, as well as technical, and that makes it even more fun. I usually make 3 muslins when developing a jacket before I am happy with the results.

Part of the pattern making process involves getting as much lift in the sleeves as possible, so the wearer can raise their arms and move without being constrained. If you know how a tailored jacket can get tight against your shoulders when you move your arms, then you know what I am talking about. To fix the problem, I went to an old pattern drafting book I have from the 1960's. It has a draft for a golfing jacket, where the sleeve has been designed to give extra lift for big swings. I adapted this sleeve for my jacket to provide extra arm movement without making the sleeve look baggy and oversized. The golf sleeve adaption added on more time but was totally worth it in the end. Success Baby! My pattern was finally ready.

At one point in my life, I spent some time in Los Angeles, where I got my education in fashion design, and picked up some valuable work experience in "The Industry." I learned the technique for creating the leather artwork I do when I worked at a luxury leather company in Malibu. I do not want to give away my secret, but I will say that the art was cut out with leather scissors and sewn to the jacket. For the camo racer, I got some inspiration from a motorcycle race program from the 1940's and hired an artist/friend to draw a simplified version that would translate into leather. We modified our new drawing with the addition of a tailpipe.

Another friend of mine, also in Los Angeles, makes sterling silver jewelry, and he has this skull that he uses for rings and other items. I designed a zipper pull and asked him if he would make it for me with one of his skulls on it. I used one on the front zipper, and one on each sleeve gusset zipper for the camo racer. I think they take the jacket up another notch and make it even more one of a kind. All that was left to do was cut all the pattern pieces in leather, and then assemble them on my industrial walking foot sewing machine.

For me, passion is not just in the creative design process, but also in the craftsmanship and attention to detail that goes into cutting and sewing every garment. When I do something, I have to do my very best. It is an ingrained value, an obsession, that drives me to create products of the highest quality. I have no interest in mediocrity, and feel no fulfillment making anything that I have not put 100% behind. Before I break out the scissors and start cutting, every skin is inspected for imperfections and color variations. The sewing has to be perfect. If there is one skipped stitch, the entire thread is pulled out, and re-sewn in exactly the same holes created by the needle from the first pass. The entire jacket took me 18 hours to make, not including the pattern making.

In our fast paced, tech world, we have become accustomed to typing at keyboards and staring at computer screens all day long. The craftsman provides a link to the authenticity of the past, when more people actually made things with tools, like scissors, sewing needles, hammers, and saws. Making patterns and clothing, slows me down from the stressed pace of day-to-day living; I get into a calm workflow that feels fun, aka HAPPINESS.