CHAPAL X CAULAINCOURT USAAF

This collaboration was initiated within the CAULAINCOURT “Bandit” appellation, the more
experimental division of the Caulaincourt house, on the USAAF jacket from the CHAPAL house in brown glazed sheepskin and fur collar.

At CHAPAL, belonging to the family since 1832, everything is still tanned and manufactured in the Creuse workshops.

The origins of this jacket worn by US Air Force aviators during the Second World War are
fully assumed as a reference in this collaboration.
The creative additions recall the illustrations of American squadrons painted on flying machines and on
GIs’ jackets (“NOSE ART”). Later, in the 1950s, biker gangs also wore these “colors” embroidered on the back. A rite dating back to the creation of the “Hell’s Angels” whose sign of recognition was a winged
skull with a biker’s helmet, surmounted by the name of the city or local section.

On the left chest, a leather patch reminiscent of the “name plate” of the aviators where the name of the pilot appeared:
the logos of the CAULAINCOURT bee are reproduced there like trophies of the victorious aviators of the US Air Force.
On the back, an embroidery represents a pin-up sitting on a bomb. This playmate also appears
on the lining in ecru cotton poplin screen-printed in orange ink.
These designs are all original and military additions chosen by CAULAINCOURT: this name comes
from the ancestor of Alexis Lafont who was Marshal of the Empire and Grand Equerry of Napoleon’s army.
Then comes the patina specific to the shoemaker’s know-how, done on the entire jacket and entirely by hand with a cloth. The brush is only used to reach inaccessible areas such as the seams. The patina is
done using liquid inks specially developed for leather. The iteration of the layers, coloring and bleaching, gives this natural appearance. Each dye is the result of a very specific mixture
and makes each piece unique.

Jean-François Bardinon, President and Artistic Director of Maison CHAPAL, had little involvement in this
creation. He comments: “I gave Alexis carte blanche, his original creation is aimed at a different clientele
than that of CHAPAL. These embroidered designs inspired by the Art-jacket are very interesting and the patina contrasts with
our tanning habits: the jacket is transformed. CHAPAL’s American past in Brooklyn allows us to
play with history and its symbols.” Here we are wearing a unique piece of vintage style, a jacket that has lived a story, giving a bad-boy style, rebellious and chic at the same time… “Bandit”, in short! For these two actors, the passion for elegance and know-how are the dominant points that unite them.