Factory Friday: Aeroleather Clothing

Aeroleather Clothing design and manufacture high grade clothing, specialising in vintage styles and leather jackets.  

We asked Ken Calder, who founded Aeroleather Clothing in 1983, to tell us about his experience of manufacturing in Scotland.

How did you get into leather garment construction and why did you start Aeroleather Clothing?

I’d learnt to use a sewing machine around 1965 and after making clothes for friends I started a small shop in 1968 but was having problems working in flimsy materials. I got offered a job lot of leather and found it easy to use from day one.

I started Aero Leather Clothing after restoring vintage US leathers during the 1970s and 1980s when I had The Thrift Shop in Battersea.  I learnt that US construction techniques were better than European and how they were done. Good quality vintage was getting harder to find and anything bigger than a 42” was very rare. It seemed a fairly obvious step forward to essentially remanufacture these jackets. Then we found a source for Horsehide in 1986, and Aero grew from there.

Who wears Aero Leather jackets?

Many famous people and many others who have saved hard to buy one.  Our first customer group was probably Scottish students in the mid 1980s, Aero was also the leather of choice for all the top Scottish bands of that era. Since then our jackets have gone Worldwide. A few owners….Johnny Depp, Daniel Craig, Hugh Laurie, Dave Grohl, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon, Alex Turner, Captain America, Puff Daddy, several of the German World Cup squad,  etc.

How has manufacturing changed since you started?

We’ve never worked with production lines so as far as Aero goes we work the same way we always have… Essentially the same way we would have been working if this was 1935

What are the pieces that you’ve worked on over the years that you’ve really enjoyed?

Having designed our “Highwayman” that’s got to be a highlight, it’s been copied by everyone from Ralph Lauren down and has been Aero’s best seller every year since first made in 1982.  Making the Bike Jacket for the Brando exhibit at Madame Tussauds was also as high spot.  My best known design is probably Suzi Quatro’s Leather Jump Suit.

What do you see changing in the future in the leather clothing industry?

Lots more cheap imports will make it more and more difficult for companies like Aero making everything in The UK.

To find out more and get in touch with Aeroleather Clothing view their listing on Make Works here

To learn more about Leather Production read our Guide to Leather here