Eastman - a new direction?

[Edward]

Eastman used to be held in very high regard in these parts, but in the last couple of years they seem to have dropped off the radar. No longer perceived to be the very most accurate of the military repros is part of it, I suppose, with the rise of Goodwear, in particular. Still, they've always done nice bits. I've got one of their A2s somewhere, as well as a very early RoadStar D-pocket jacket (I need to, eh, slim into the waist of that one a bit...). For the first time in a long time something popped up in my Facebook feed from their site this afternoon (doesn't mean they've been inactive on there, just the way Facebook has gone about trying to monetise its operations...) - this article about the new ELMC label:

http://www.selectism.com/2014/01/23/introducing-eastman-leather-clothing-new-label-elmc/

Clearly they want to go way beyond only leather jackets with this one - it's styled more after the likes of Buzz Rickson and other Japanese labels in terms of offering a whole range of stuff. Working with John Lofgren, too - looks like the range will include John's boots. Here's hoping some if it is affordable! The pictures look nice (even if the dead ringer for Tom Selleck is distracting!).

Site due to go live at the weekend, I believe:

http://elmc.co/

 

[kampkatz]

The biker in question could be Tom Selleck's son, no?

 

[Feraud]

Sounds like a good plan. The workwear/biker/high-end Japanese repro denim lifestyle thing is growing.

 

[bn1966]

Very interesting Am planning a trip down there later in the year, thinking about a D1 rather than a biker jacket, though the RoadStar is tempting Will be keen to see the sweats & T shirts

 

[thor]

As long as they don't go down the same path as Avirex (and I suspect that they won't). Once Avirex branched out and got away from their military themed clothing, it was the "kiss of death". They weren't the most accurate repro makers, but they had a thriving business and did have some cool military leather and cloth jackets. Then they went into the urban/hip-hop (youth-oriented?) market and their business went down the drain :-(

 

[Boyo]

Nice tip Edward, the new collection definitely has a Buzz Rickson / Real McCoy vibe to it. I really liked the the engineer boots on the first page, the suede-ed out shearling jacket and the brown highwaymanesque jacket on the last page. I will be looking forward to seeing the full line-up on February 1. ( and the Prices)

 

[bn1966]

Looking forward to Saturday and as Boyo says to seeing the prices (will make sure I'm sat down for that one )

 

[CBI]

Looks like they need to move in a new or at least additional direction. The guy with the beard is a model for Buzz Rickson so those may be BR clothes. Yes, Eastman got a bit trodden by Good Wear in regards authenticity. Eastman has up'd their game in that area as well.

Affordable prices? don't count on it.

Best of luck to them!

 

[Justhandguns]

Looks like they need to move in a new or at least additional direction. The guy with the beard is a model for Buzz Rickson so those may be BR clothes. Yes, Eastman got a bit trodden by Good Wear in regards authenticity. Eastman has up'd their game in that area as well.

Affordable prices? don't count on it.

Best of luck to them!

Affordable prices? Relative to their Japanese counterparts? Just another excuse for them to increase the prices. Apparently, there is a high demand for their jackets in Taiwan with a couple of new distributes there.

 

[Smithy]

Probably not a silly move by ELC. They're already big in Japan and the whole 50s scene is a big thing there too, so I'd imagine that's the primary market they're aiming for with this.

Rather than a change of direction I think this is probably just Gary opening up a new revenue stream and good luck to them with it. I'd be hugely surprised if they slash the traditional ELC offerings.

Won't be cheap though, but then it doesn't seem like much is these days!

 

[Blackadder]

Probably find that the motorcycle clothing market is bigger than the military repros. Problem is with the yen's current exchange rate, they may face stiffer competition than couple of years ago. Take one look at Rakuten and you'll see a Buzz N-1 costing only GBP220 half of what it costs in Buzz Europe. I doubt there is gonna be a 100% postage and import duties. There are of course fans who would only purchase items that are made in UK or USA regardless of the price.

 

[RailRoad]

Probably find that the motorcycle clothing market is bigger than the military repros. Problem is with the yen's current exchange rate, they may face stiffer competition than couple of years ago. Take one look at Rakuten and you'll see a Buzz N-1 costing only GBP220 half of what it costs in Buzz Europe. I doubt there is gonna be a 100% postage and import duties. There are of course fans who would only purchase items that are made in UK or USA regardless of the price.

I stumbled across Rakuten's site last year and ordered a set of the Buzz Rickson's Tiger Stripes for a tad less than what was wanted for just the shirt at the more popular places. With their EMS shipping I've put in an order on a Thursday evening and it's been delivered Tuesday morning. I was amazed.

 

[Blackadder]

I stumbled across Rakuten's site last year and ordered a set of the Buzz Rickson's Tiger Stripes for a tad less than what was wanted for just the shirt at the more popular places. With their EMS shipping I've put in an order on a Thursday evening and it's been delivered Tuesday morning. I was amazed.

Rakuten is just a platform, not all the shops are that quick but great for comparing prices.

 

[Ishmael]

Nice tip Edward, the new collection definitely has a Buzz Rickson / Real McCoy vibe to it. I really liked the the engineer boots on the first page, the suede-ed out shearling jacket and the brown highwaymanesque jacket on the last page. I will be looking forward to seeing the full line-up on February 1. ( and the Prices)

The engineers boots in the second photo are John Lofgren. Perhaps there is a special Eastman x Lofgren engineer boot forthcoming. I heard something about horsehide or cordovan awhile back.....

 

[GuyLdeB]

The marketplace for exploiting the post war rebel look is becoming crowded, seems like Eastman has decided to chase the Mr Freedom, RRL, Dice Magazine crowd. Makes being original kind of hard these days when anything 'cool' is immediately jumped on and marketed
.

 

[bretron]

"These days" :lol: sorry, sorta old hat.

 

[nicholasb]

Interesting. You can see leather wallets being made for them here - http://bornbred.tumblr.com/

 

[Justhandguns]

Honestly, I seriously doubt that ELMC can compete with any of those brands mentioned. Unlike military flight jackets, the competition is huge with these sort of vintage biker type of leather-wares. You have to ask yourself why you want a Eastman belt while you can get similar quality ones for half of the price? Jackets are fine, but the belts and wallets, not even made by themselves? Anyway, we shall see it very soon by the end of this week.

 

[havocpaul]

Interesting direction but I was also hoping they'd have brought out the US Navy M-444 jacket they said was in development way back last May announced in their blog back then, missed the season nearly now.

 

[Feraud]

"These days" :lol: sorry, sorta old hat.

Indeed. I think it's safe to say nothing we're doing is particularly original or rebellious. It's just clothing.

Honestly, I seriously doubt that ELMC can compete with any of those brands mentioned. Unlike military flight jackets, the competition is huge with these sort of vintage biker type of leather-wares. You have to ask yourself why you want a Eastman belt while you can get similar quality ones for half of the price? Jackets are fine, but the belts and wallets, not even made by themselves? Anyway, we shall see it very soon by the end of this week.

It's not uncommon for people to pay very high prices for what are essentially luxury items when the perception of status is in question.
Within this subculture of workwear/denim/vintage there are status brands people are paying way too much money for.
Basically we're no different from women who pay thousands of dollars for designer handbags..