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Indiana Jones's jacket

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Around the 1930s, Indiana Jones frequently wore a brown leather jacket while adventuring - preferring a A-2 bomber inspired jacket.[1]

History[]

As with other facets of his adult adventuring gear, Indiana Jones adopted a look that was similar, whether consciously or otherwise, to that a looter he encountered as a child in Utah, 1912.[2]

During the retrieval of the Lost Ark, Indy's jacket was damaged by a German soldier who shot Indiana's left arm.[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Peter Botwright is the man behind Indiana Jones' jacket as it was his company, Wested Leather, which supplied the jackets for Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. As well as customized jackets, Wested Leather sells replicas of the jacket as worn by Indiana Jones actor Harrison Ford.

The jackets for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull were created by Tony Nowak of Tony Nowak Originals, based on the Last Crusade design.

One of the screen-used jackets was donated to the Smithsonian Institution.[4]

Jacket detail[]

Indiana Jones's jacket was based on the design of the A-2 bomber jacket, adding side pleats and removing the cuffs for a better range of motion. The jacket's details varied with each installment.

Raiders of the Lost Ark[]

Raiders

Striations are visible on the Raiders jacket right before the Flying Wing fight.

Leather: Lambskin (specifically striated/ribby lambskin)
Supplier: Peter Botwright

Lightweight with a loose fit, the Raiders jacket is also the shortest of the series in comparison with the other feature films. The cut/pattern of the jacket gives it an "over hang" which makes jacket appear longer or shorter depending on the scene and how it is worn. Its design also has wider shoulders to make Ford look bigger than he actually was. This made the seams of the shoulders dip lower than a traditional leather jacket should, resulting into the "droopy shoulders" look. This contributed to the loose and baggy fit of the jacket.

The jacket's zippers were originally aluminum then painted brass during production. As the paint wore off, the aluminum zipper is visible in most scenes with the brass briefly featured such as Indiana Jones on board the OB-CPO after the Hovitos chase. The jacket also featured side pleats for additional range of motion. These pleats were kept intact from blowing out by adjustable side straps held by black rectangular buckles.

Among all the movies, the the Raiders jacket design was the least distressed. Despite this, one of the variations sports "striations" (a visible effect from the ribs of lambs) giving it a worn in look, as did the artificial weathering.

There were several variations of the Raiders jacket on-screen:

  • The jacket used in the South American prologue sequence where Indy is about to enter the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors. Prominent features of this jacket are the pointed collars and the more scalloped pockets. A different jacket is used once he is inside the temple.
Raven bar jacket

The jacket used in The Raven bar scenes had a smoother chest panel.

  • The main jacket with the most screen time in the film was used during the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors, The Raven, and Cairo scenes, and just before Indy gets shot and dragged under the truck. Its most prominent features are the striations at the chest panel which increased with usage during production.
  • Another jacket was used during the desert chase after Indy takes control of the truck. This sports a smoother chest but with a more textured back panel. A different, stunt jacket was utilized when Indy was dragged under the vehicle.
  • The first jacket made for the shoot was featured during the Bantu Wind scenes recorded in France. Costume designer Deborah Nadoolman personally aged the jacket the night before shooting using various tools such as shoe polish, a wire brush, and Harrison Ford's knife.

Temple of Doom[]

Screen Shot 2020-07-14 at 2.33.26 AM

Jacket featured in Temple of Doom.

Leather: Lambskin
Supplier: French company

The Temple of Doom jacket as the slimmest fit of the series. Longer in comparison to the Raiders jacket, what also distinguishes it from the other jackets are the smaller pockets.

The second film's design loses the striation features of the first but has a more distressed look.

Last Crusade[]

Screen Shot 2020-07-14 at 2.53.55 AM

Last Crusade design.

Leather: Lambskin
Supplier: Peter Botwright

The Last Crusade design has two metal studs at the end of the storm flap of the jacket. It also has the largest pockets of the film series to accommodate the size of the Grail Diary.

It has the loosest fit in the original trilogy. The jacket appears roomier compared to its predecessors. It is also the heaviest distressed jacket in the theatrical movies including Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Like the other jackets, it is made of lambskin but it appears thicker due to different tanning process used for the leather. Instead of the black rectangular buckles, D-rings were used for the straps.

Continuity[]

Although a Lucasfilm.com article suggests that, as the jacket worn in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has stitching on its left arm, it's the same one as worn in Raiders of the Lost Ark,[5] this contradicts the on-screen depiction of the jacket being damaged there when Indiana Jones was accidentally shot by Basil Shaw in 1944.[6]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ↑ Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide
  2. ↑ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  3. ↑ Raiders of the Lost Ark
  4. ↑ Jacket worn by Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at The Smithsonian
  5. ↑ Lucasfilm.com History in Objects: Indy's Leather Jacket on Lucasfilm.com (backup link on Archive.org)
  6. ↑ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

External links[]

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