The Bandit Jacket
The Bandit Jacket is a mid-weight canvas piece featuring a corduroy collar and cuff. In a rich pine green, this jacket also introduces the unique F-tab zipper pull, a signature detail across Fades products. This jacket has undergone more iterations than any of my other designs, reflecting my personal connection to vintage inspiration, the very starting point of my journey into design. This was designed to be the everyday jacket.
Inspiration
What would a western bandit wear in their everyday attire? That question ignited the Bandit Jacket’s inspiration. I drew from vintage Western puffer jackets, especially a piece I sourced on eBay. The distinctive central paneling front and back echoes those vintage silhouettes. I envisioned a modern-day outlaw, subtle enough for daily wear, yet carrying a flash of boldness. Like a bandit who can’t resist showing off a bit of brass, I wanted the piece to balance that confident spirit. Ultimately, the jacket became my homage to the bandit archetype, infused with vintage western grit, yet designed for the modern, street-luxury landscape.
Process
After enjoying the reference jacket I sourced for personal use, I photographed it and traced the CAD in Illustrator. Collaborating with my manufacturer, I began with a brown, 100% cotton canvas, echoing the original’s puffer fill. Key differences include a single large bubble puff rather than the segmented sections used in the original piece. I then transitioned to an all-black version, maintaining the triple-stitch paneling, double-zipper, and western-inspired back embroidery. I removed the puffer to align more closely with the trend, as the Carhartt Detroit jacket fit has become widely popular among non-workwear enthusiasts. However, realizing that the western motif didn’t fully align with the streetwear-meets-luxury aesthetic, I refined it. The final design was a pine-green canvas with a fold-out corduroy collar and cuff. I removed the back embroidery to avoid an overly western image and added a subtle gold F on the chest, keeping it bold, yet refined. The transition from black to pine green was due to the black canvases' tendency to show lint and dust picked up from daily wear. These hidden details in the double F zipper or the corduroy lining in the cuff further nod to the bandit with a few tricks up their sleeves.
Garment Contruction
