Schott for 3sixteen Modified B-6 Bomber.
Photos: Vinny Picone
This winter, we are proud to introduce our 9th offering in collaboration with world-renowned leather jacket manufacturers Schott NYC. With each project, we’ve tried to push boundaries to create meaningful jackets that people would be proud to own for decades to come. There’s a little bit of pride that swells up when we hear customers talk longingly about missing out on a specific one. Together with Schott, we’ve pulled out all the stops year after year to develop custom leathers, sterling silver accessories, and brand new jacket silhouettes in service of creating what many now consider to be collectors items. This newest one might be our best yet.
For this collaboration, we decided to depart from previous double rider and type 3 projects to focus on what we believe to be an underappreciated aspect of Schott’s leather jacket expertise: shearling jackets. What we’ve landed on is a modified B-6 sheepskin bomber jacket that showcases Schott’s unparallelled manufacturing capabilities. The style that we are releasing is rooted in an archived design Schott once made; we found an old example through a vintage dealer and asked Schott if we’d be able to revisit and revise the style to make it ours.
To understand what makes this jacket unique, though, perhaps it’s best to first talk about the historical B-6. A style that was issued to pilots in the 1940’s, the B-6 bomber was an update to the longer, bulkier B-3 that preceded it. As these jackets were designed to keep pilots warm at altitudes of 25,000 feet and up within unheated cockpits, sheepskin was a natural choice for insulation. The B-6 featured an improved pattern over the B-3, providing more mobility and greater comfort when worn without sacrificing functionality. Both versions featured a massive collar that could be worn up and buckled closed, almost acting like a scarf.
While we love and personally own historically accurate sheepskin bombers, there’s a certain level of commitment that goes into wearing one. The collars are huge and the cuffs and waistband have turnbacks that reveal the fuzzy sheepskin underneath. The modified B-6 that we’ve collaborated on was produced by Schott from 1985 through the early 1990's and was then discontinued. What we loved most about it is the ribbing on the cuffs and waistbands, a detail that was featured on earlier A-1’s and A-2’s. Our version is also quite a bit more cropped than the B-6, which was already shortened from the originating B-3. We added a heavy duty Ideal brass double zipper to give the wearer some more room at the sweep. Lastly, we spec’ed out a significantly reduced collar size to make the jacket more wearable, while still preserving comfort and aesthetic appeal. The sheepskins are all domestically sourced and tanned, just like they were on the original garments Schott produced.
Shearling bomber jackets might have been originally designed for fighter pilots, but like all lasting designs the look was eventually co-opted by another subculture. In the 80’s and 90’s, you’d be hard pressed to find an east coast rapper who wasn’t wearing a shearling bomber in a performance or music video. Our personal attachment to the look runs deep and we wanted to make sure to do this collaboration justice by photographing it at one of our favorite Lower East Side institutions, a place where you’d undoubtedly wear the jacket to: El Castillo de Jagua. Ever since we had our first office on Allen Street in the Lower East Side in 2007, we’ve been pulling up to Castillo for their homestyle Dominican cooking. There’s always a hot plate full of beef stew and pernil, salsa playing on the speakers, and a dining room full of neighborhood locals. As the neighborhood has gentrified drastically over the 40+ years it’s been open, Castillo remains stalwart and is a vital part of what keeps the Lower East Side authentic. A big thank you to Osiris and team for allowing us to shoot our campaign at a place that is so special to us. Check out the campaign video we shot with them here.
The Schott for 3sixteen Modified B-6 Bomber retails for $1400 and launches on Thursday, December 12th at noon ET on 3sixteen.com. Limited quantities will also be available in our NY & LA flagship stores when we open that same day.