Up for sale here is a jacket from Undercover’s spring-summer 2009 collection. They’ve done a few musician-inspired collections, covering the likes of the Talking Heads, the Jesus & Mary Chain, Can, Suicide, Television and a few others. The 2009ss collection, called “Poptones”, as you may be able to guess was largely inspired by John Lydon. In particular, this is modeled after his early Public Image Ltd. phase, rather than the more typical Sex Pistols look he had going.
Like a few Undercover collections, the Poptones season is highly underrated in my opinion. While you may or may not be a fan of the inspiration, there is no denying the level of thought and detail that goes into Undercover. Few labels are able to pull off their extremely forward-thinking designs, let alone their tailoring or attention to detail. This collection focused a lot on sort casual suiting, using interesting materials to create summer-weight pieces.
In this case we have Undercover’s take on the classic British Harrington, filtered through their particular aesthetic. Most apparent, perhaps, is the fabric. Harrington jackets are usually done in cotton, although in this case the exterior is 100% polyester. The poly has a pretty unique sheen to it, where the color can vary between blue and purple depending on the light. The use of poly also makes the jacket nicely water resistant. Interior is fully lined in a cotton tartan, again referencing the classic Harrington but also reinterpreting it.
A number of details are also incorporated. For one, the jacket uses high quality swiss Riri zippers on the front and on the left arm side pocket. There are three buttoned pockets on the front, along with a zipped pocket on the left sleeve. Left sleeve also has a tag unique to the collection. Front has the embroidered “z” logo they like to incorporate, referencing a tattoo Patti Smith has. Collar buttons up and can be worn either up or down. Neck, cuffs and waistband are all ribbed.
As you can probably guess, these jackets were produced in very small quantities and are now long gone. Japanese retail was ridiculous, and retail abroad was even crazier if you could even find this. These jackets won’t be coming back either, so get it here while you can.
Size is labeled a 2 and fits like a slim medium. I measure the chest at 20”, shoulders at 17”, length at 24” from the base of the neck, and sleeves at 25” from the shoulder. The jacket comes in lightly used, excellent shape with no holes, tears, stains or visible signs of wear. Made in Japan.
Shipping from Japan to anywhere will be $28.