Rick Owens SS26 Gary Jacket

A composition of sixty-five percent lamb leather, thirty-four percent cotton, and one percent spandex describes a specific material rather than a mixture, and it is worth being clear about what it is. This is leather laminated to a stretch textile backing. The face is real lamb; behind it sits a cotton and elastane cloth that gives the panel something leather does not naturally have, which is recovery. Pull it and it comes back.

That single property is what allows the jacket to be cut the way it is. A skin-tight biker in conventional leather is either uncomfortable or short-lived, because leather stretches where it is stressed and does not return, so the elbows and the seat of a tight leather garment bag out permanently. A stretch-backed leather does not. The house can therefore draw the jacket close to the body, run the zip diagonally across the front, and bring the neck up high, without the fit being a problem you live with rather than a design you chose.

Why we selected it

We wanted our close-cut leather jacket to be one a customer could actually wear all day, and that is a materials question rather than a pattern question. This is the answer. It is also immediately flattering in a way leather rarely is, which is a plain thing to say and the true reason most people buy it.

The Gary is one of the house’s named biker jackets and is the closest-fitting of them.

Materials and construction

Sixty-five percent lamb leather, thirty-four percent cotton, one percent spandex. Made in Moldova. Colour: black. High neck, asymmetric front zip, below-waist length, cut close.

Fit notes

It is meant to fit tightly and it is described that way by the house, so the size that feels correct will be smaller than you expect from a leather jacket. The stretch backing means it moves with you and recovers, so a snug fit here does not become a stretched one over a season. It layers over a tee or the thinnest of knits and over nothing else. The high neck sits against the throat when zipped.

Styling

Over a fine knit with a straight or wide trouser, since all the closeness is above the waist and the proportion wants an answer below it. A boot. Nothing at the neck.

Care

Not at home and not at an ordinary dry cleaner. A bonded leather is less forgiving than a plain hide, because heat and solvent can affect the backing as well as the face, so this needs a leather specialist who is told what it is. Wipe the face with a barely damp cloth, hang it on a broad hanger, and keep it away from heat. Our care guidance covers conditioning, and its position is that less is safer than more.

Related pieces

The F/W 25 Gary Jacket is the Italian-made one. The Giacca Classic Biker Jacket is full lamb leather, the S/S 26 Classic Biker Jacket is the same pattern in mesh, and the Heizer Mac Jacket is from the same season. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.