The Indiana Jones Jacket
The sound of a gunshot rang throughout the canyon as dirt and rocks fell from the overhang just behind Indy's head. Rolling to one side, he pulled out this gun and returned fire, hitting his target between the eyes with the second shot. Indiana Jones grabbed the old wooden box he had liberated from it's two thousand year old resting place, and tucked it under the edge of his leather jacket as he made his way toward the valley below. Dark brown and battle scarred, his old jacket had seen more of this world than any fifty men put together. Like the fedora that was pulled down firmly on his head, Indy's leather jacket had become a trusted friend and an essential part of his look and style.
An iconic mixture of the look of old A-2 leather jackets combined with elements from James Dean's jacket, the Indiana Jones jacket became a legend of it's own. It certainly didn't hurt that the jacket was worn through adventurous expeditions involving fortune, glory, mystery, and danger, on the back of one of the most popular movie characters of all time. However, like the fedoras on his head, the jacket details also changed quite a bit from film to film.
Once again, our intent is to present only the most reliable and relevant information regarding what the items were and where to get them (or as close as possible) today. It is not our goal to try re-telling the history of who made what, when or why, regarding items bogged down in the sea of bad memories and quest for profits that result from researching items used in a now 26+ year old movie. Read below and click on the collage thumbnails to learn more for yourself.
"Raiders Of The Lost Ark"
The leather jackets worn by Harrison Ford in "Raider of The Lost Ark" were made by an English costume company called "Berman & Nathans", which would later become "Wested Leather Company". The general design is credited to costumer Deborah Nadoolman, who also assisted in the artificial weathering applied to get the right aged look. She wanted to combine the look of a 1930's era A-2 bomber jacket and bring in a little James Dean by leaving off the cuffed sleeves and jacket bottom. The jacket was made from dark brown lambskin, had front patch style pockets with scalloped pocket flaps, a left sided zipper configuration, inside pocket (left side), and adjustable leather straps on the sides. Given the amount of action Indy was going to see on screen, bi-swing vents or action pleats (as they are often called), were added to the back panel for additional freedom of movement. The lambskin of that era was also more pebbly and grainy looking, due to different hide processing techniques used than in recent years.
Due to the rushed nature of movie costume production, differences in various details can be found on the jackets worn throughout the movie. Some areas that differ include some jackets having underarm gussets, strap hardware changes, and various changes in size and placement of seams and sections. That being understood, there is no way to have a jacket that is fully screen accurate for the movie as a whole. If nitpicky detail accuracy is what you seek, the best you can do is to pick a scene you like best, and model your jacket after the one(s) used in that part of the film only. The same can be said for the iconic Indy fedoras as well.
A brand new leather jacket just wouldn't look right on a guy that has been on hundreds of exotic expeditions, remote archaeological digs, and dangerous encounters with unfriendly locals. So, movie costumers step in with various methods of articially aging and distressing certain items to look well worn, used, or even abused. A number of techniques have been reported as being used on the Raiders jackets; working the hide over with a stiff brush, carving and scraping on it with a pocket knife, adding color back to certain areas with shoe polish, and an overall coating with mink oil. It's certainly very likely that the jackets were soaked with water, which really adds alot of character to lambskin.
"Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom"
The Temple of Doom jackets were a combination of leftovers from Raiders and less expensive knock-offs, made by a French jacket company. The major differences are that the jackets are a little longer, the back panel yoke seam is lower, the front patch pockets are smaller, and they are placed closer to the bottom of the jacket. The aging/distressing of the jackets seemed a bit heavier than in Raiders and slightly more dried out, but not to a great degree. Considering that Temple Of Doom actually occurs a year before Raiders does in the timeline, this shouldn't really be the case at all.
Of course, that's if you assume that the new costumer for the film was so detail oriented that they even knew or cared about the timeline, and that you also believe that Indy only had one jacket. Neither seems likely because the costumer obviously missed other more important jacket details from the Raiders jacket design, and given the number of clothing and gear items that Indy destroys or just loses along the way in these movies, he had to have extras/replacements back at home. The Temple of Doom jackets also didn't seem to fit Harrison as well, which adds to the slightly more droopy nature of the jackets in this film.
"Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade"
"Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" brought a few changes to the familiar Indy jacket. The jackets were once again supplied by Wested Leather Company. The jackets currently being sold by Wested, most closely resemble the Last Crusade cut. Along with much heavier physical distressing, the leather was left very dry and uncoated. This created a look that was lighter in color and different in texture than the two previous models. The leather, though still reported to be lambskin, appeared thicker and had much less drape to it.
Harrison had obviously gained a little weight by the time Last Crusade was filmed, so a larger jacket size was needed. The fit of the jacket was also much looser than before, both through the body and shoulders. In addition, metal snaps were added to the collar and below the zipper. The collar was a good bit larger as well as the front patch style pockets, which was required to hold the Grail Diary during the film.
"Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull"
The jackets for "Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull" were a "Last Crusade" based design, constructed by Tony Nowak of California. Along with being a lighter shade of brown, they also have a stone washed sort of distressing to them instead of the less uniform techniques done by hand. Cowhide was used instead of lambskin, and the look of the jackets changed greatly because of it. The shoulder seams (and possibly others) were also double stitched this time for extra strength.
More information regarding this jacket will be added as
it becomes available.
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