British Style Legends

Lewis Leathers

There is no sign to guide you, just a small sticker on the doorbell of the big Victorian terrace in Paddington, west London. Once inside you walk through to the back and down some stairs. The first thing to hit you is a burst of vintage rock’n’roll. The second is the rich smell of leather.  ‘I can’t smell it any more!’ Derek Harris, owner of Lewis Leathers laughs.  Vintage posters cover the walls, and leather goods are everywhere: biker jackets, racing suits, boots. Here a legendary Lightning jacket. There a classic Dominator. You can feel the heritage. Smell the quality. 

‘I bought the company in 93,’  Derek says over a cup of tea.  ‘But Lewis Leathers has been around for over 100 years.’  D Lewis Ltd started trading in 1892 in a shop at 124 Great Portland Street, London. Initially it did traditional tailoring, but it also made  ‘protective clothing for the gentleman auto sports of flying and motoring’. In 1926, the company started making specialist clothing for motorcycle racing.  A seminal moment in the company’s history came in 1956 when Lewis released the Bronx jacket. This was its first product aimed specifically at the teenage market, and kids all over Britain bought into the look made famous by the film The Wild One, which was banned in the UK.  ‘Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin made the look appealing to rebellious youth,’  Derek notes. The UK rocker was born.

The company continued to grow during the 60s, and in 1970 introduced coloured leather. Innovations, such as stripes, appeared on the sleeves and down the side of racing jackets – think Barry Sheene. In 1976, punk rockers adopted the look: a pre-Sex Pistols Sid  Vicious was photographed in a Dominator jacket, and Paul Simonon and Joe Strummer from The Clash bought Lightning jackets from the Great Portland Street shop. Steve Jones can be seen wearing a Lightning jacket in the Sex Pistols’  ‘Pretty Vacant’  video. Iggy Pop, Sham 69 and the Pretenders all adopted the look – Chrissie Hynde wore a red Cyclone jacket for the cover of the Pretenders’  debut album. The company has also been involved in supplying kit to filmmakers.  ‘The jackets were used in the Battle Of Britain – the Luftwaffe pilots wore Lewis Leathers!’  Derek says.  ‘And we did the leathers for Rollerball.’

The 80s were tough, and in 1993 the Great Portland Street shop closed after 101 years of trading: but by closing the shop, the company was probably saved by just focussing on wholesaling.  ‘We sold through the Ace Café and a couple of other outlets,’  Derek says, and sales in Japan rocketed during this time. Recently, the jackets have been spotted on Kate Moss, Carl Barât and Glasvegas, and the label still has the feel of something known about by people who really love good clobber.

‘Lewis Leathers have always been expensive because they are quality,’  Derek says.  ‘But part of the joy has always been finding out about something really good and tracking it down.’  With a superb range of jackets and premium denim wear in the pipeline, it seems likely that more and more people will be tracking down one of Britain’s finest labels.

Lewis Leathers, 26 Chilworth Street, London W2 6DT, www.lewisleathers.com