Belstaff Centenary Outlaw Pro leather jacket in black

Everybody knows that, first and foremost, Belstaff is a wax-cotton brand. It's what the company is famous for, and what they have produced non-stop since the 1920s.

 

It was only after the war, much influenced by the jackets worn by bomber and fighter pilots of both our and the American air forces, that short, blouson-style, leather jackets started to become popular with bikers. And of course they became synonymous with the ton-up boys of the fifties and sixties as they raced from café to café on their Triumphs, BSAs, Ariels and Nortons.

 

But the truth is that leather jackets were simply too expensive for most bikers in an impoverished, post-war Britain. And so waxed-cotton jackets were actually more popular with bikers than leather ones during this era, especially given waxed cotton's all-weather practicality. Now back then, in stark contrast to the position today, Belstaff was very much a working man's brand. And so the company didn't really produce leather jackets. Yes, there were some, but in reality most of the Belstaff jackets of this period that looked like leather jackets were actually made from vinyl. That's just the kind of company that Belstaff was back then. 

 

It was, in fact, only when the Italian Melanotti enterprise rescued the company from the edge of bankruptcy in 2004 that Belstaff started to seriously make leather jackets. And for some years leather was indeed almost the new owner's main focus. (The Italians, after all, do love a nice bit of leather!). They produced some fabulous, classic leather jackets in the early part of the new millennium, although some of them were perhaps ahead of their time. Undoubtedly, however, the Belstaff leather jackets that have best stood the test of time are those that replicated the brand's three most popular waxed-cotton jackets: the Trialmaster, the Crosby and the Brooklands. The leather versions of these jackets have remained stalwarts of the company's leather offering ever since they were first introduced. And with their luxurious, hand-waxed leather, these jackets really are something. Beautiful to look at, and lovely to wear, some might even suggest that they are too nice to wear on the bike. Although many bikers do.

 

Now, Belstaff claim that the new-for-2024 Outlaw Pro has been revived from the company's archives to celebrate the brand's one hundredth anniversary. Well, this is not technically incorrect, but this is a jacket that found fame not so much on the back of the tearaways on the North Circular, but rather from the fact that it was often seen on the back of David Beckham on the Holland Park Avenue, when he was going through his 'cool biker' phase.

 

The jacket that David wore, however, was not a proper biking jacket. This style has never before been supplied as a CE-approved jacket with armour. When David wore his, it was just a casual leather jacket, although assuredly a very cool-looking one.

 

Belstaff call the leather used on the Outlaw Pro jacket 'premium washed cow leather'. That doesn't tell us a lot, but 'washing' involves putting the jacket into a machine that looks like a tumble dryer. This beats the leather up a little, and softens the handle. And indeed the Outlaw jacket does feel lovely. If it has a bit of a patina, it is a very subtle one. This is not one of those jackets where somebody has abraded all the seams to artificially age it. Whatever Belstaff has done to the jacket, it has worked. It doesn't look as though somebody has owned it before you, but nor does it look shop fresh; it is a jacket that feels as though it is going to be comfortable to wear from the get-go.

 

In terms of the detail, much of it is what you would expect. The jacket comes with D3O, Level 1 armour in the elbows and shoulders. In a jacket this nice to wear you wouldn't want Level 2. There's a pocket for a back protector. The jacket is rated AA for abrasion resistance under EN17092, which is what one might expect.

 

You get two, zipped pockets on the sides, and another one inside the jacket. There are zipped gussets at the ends of the sleeves, largely we suspect to make the jacket easier to put on. Normally, you would only wear a short, leather glove with a jacket like this. So you wouldn't be looking to tuck the cuff of a glove inside the end of the sleeve. There's a belt and buckle arrangement at the waist to tighten or loosen the jacket on the hips. The jacket is lined in a gold, quilted, acetate material.

 

There are quilted leather panels on the shoulders and elbows. These will have brought something to the party in terms of abrasion testing. But, let's face it, they complete the look. All the zips pulls are chunky, yet beautifully crafted. This is all bespoke stuff; there's nothing off the shelf here. We just hope the zips are by YKK!

 

The Outlaw Pro is a beautiful jacket. It will probably work better on slightly taller, and perhaps slightly slimmer, folk. Unfortunately, when I tried it on, Sara was of the view that it made me look more like Tom Hanks in Big, than David Beckham. A shame because I really like this jacket, but that's the way it goes. 

 

For some people, though, this is going to be the perfect biker jacket. The leather is exquisite. The styling is classic without being dated. The jacket is comfortable. And it will protect you. Of course, not sure you'd be wanting to wear a jacket this nice when the heavens open, but that's nothing that couldn't be resolved with a black Scott over jacket. And there's nothing stopping you taking the armour out, to wear it as a casual jacket, a la Davide!

 

Finally, a word on price. At £1225, the jacket is furiously expensive. But why wouldn't it be? We are operating in the luxury goods sector here. This is a Bentley, an Aston, a Ferrari. When I get around to reviewing this jacket on Youtube, I know that somebody will comment that jackets like this are not for 'mere mortals', and that the respondent paid just £200 for an AAA-rated jacket from another brand. But, as ever, those who know, know!