My Love Letter to Rider’s Jackets: by Yuma Tanimoto

The sun rays are just a bit milder, and the wind just that much cooler, hinting at the approach of autumn. The season for leather jackets is almost here. Our readers in cooler areas may have already started wearing them. Let me introduce myself. My name is Yuma Tanimoto. I'll be writing today's blog post in place of our regular contributor Takao.

How I stumbled into the leather industry: all because of Rider’s Jackets

Before you ask, “Who the heck is this guy?”, let me tell you about myself. I manage the production line and run the official website Y'2. I also take part in product exhibitions around Japan as well as selling products at our company store, where some of you may have met me.

Before entering the ranks of Y'2, I worked in a completely unrelated field, as a system engineer. I started from scratch, learning the ins and outs of ordering leather and other materials, product inspection and shipping, while using my technical skills to digitize some of Y'2's more analog processes, like handwritten paperwork and faxes. I also renovated the homepage you are looking at now, and I developed and now manage the online reservation system. So what inspired me to pursue a career in American-casual fashion? It was none other than a single rider’s jacket.

The rebel look of the double-breasted rider's jacket, a symbol of rock and roll

Flash back three years. I was grinding in the IT world, itching for a career switch. On the side, I was following my passion for music in a band, spreading our love for 60s psychedelic music. But as we delved deeper, we found inspiration in 50s rock and roll. That led me to pursue a heritage American-casual theme for my wardrobe choices.

And what's more iconic of 50s culture than the double-breasted rider's jacket? Following in the footsteps of Elvis Presley, it is an icon of rock and roll, and represents the bad-boy attitude of the era in movies and other media. One of my favorite movies is Cry-Baby, effusing 50s vibes throughout, with Johnny Depp perfectly showcasing the rider's coolness. Back then, I only owned a vintage single-breasted riders jacket with a stand collar. But I knew one day I wanted to get my hands on the “real deal.” That obsession hit its peak right when I was looking for a new job, and I set out to look for my dream jacket.

I had no knowledge about vintage and niche leather jackets, or what the best brands were. I didn't know where to start, so I started researching. I knew that no matter how great the reviews, I would have to see and feel the real thing, so I looked up shops within a reasonable distance, which led me to discover Y'2. While browsing their catalog, I was starstruck by the Y2-02. This is the model that reimagines the D-pocket style of the 1930s, when the classic riders jacket was born, using our Eco Horse. (I later learned this is an extremely niche model of ours.) I wasted no time in picking up my phone and booked a reservation at the company store (since there was no online reservation system at the time). That was my first contact with Y'2 Leather.

How love at first sight with a rider's jacket opened the door to Y'2

Takao gave me the tour, showing me different rider’s jackets, even samples of unreleased models. It was then I came face to face with my dream jacket, the Y2-02, with
the iconic texture of the Eco Horse. I knew it, then and there. “This is it!” …But to my chagrin, they didn't have my size. So I immediately made a reservation for the next season, and resigned myself to counting the days until it arrived…On my way home, I was still buzzing from the impeccable customer service, and the highly refined atmosphere of the leather-only storefront. I pulled up their Instagram to find that they were hiring! The job posting was for a production line manager, way off the track from my current job as a system engineer, but I was convinced that the stars were aligned for this moment. I put aside all hesitations and applied for the job... and here I am.

I joined Y’2 Leather before my jacket was ready, and was thrilled to see the leather being cut and sewn into my very own Y2-02 right before my eyes. Like all new Eco Horse owners, I wrestled with the stiff leather for the first two years, until one day it suddenly softened to become uniquely my own. I fell in love all over again with the classic Amekaji design–the D-pocket, the cinched belt–and the aging texture of the Eco Horse. I can’t wait to try out all different kinds of leather jackets, but I gotta say, there’s something truly special to me about the double riders jacket, with its refinement as gear clothing for a functional purpose, and its cultural presence as an emblem of rebellion.