Origin Story

I was in a world of hurt after a particularly painful breakup with a girlfriend.  After some convalescing,  I wanted to do something that felt like taking back a piece of myself that I had lost,  reclaiming my strength as it were. I’d wanted a studded leather jacket for a while and I decided this was my time to acquire one.  At first I reached out to a studded leather jacket maker in Toronto but after not receiving a reply and with a slight tinge of disappointment, I set out instead to create my own.

I loaded “The Vindicator” with spikes from top to bottom and slapped a Celtic Frost patch on the back of my new battle jacket. I didn’t know back then how crude a job it was but it did the trick! I left my home for some Montreal nightlife for the first time in months feeling power-charged. I got the attention I was after.

Step by Step Process

An image is generated or selected by myself and then presented to classically trained painter, Robert Pietrantonio. Combining classical and hyperrealist styles, he paints directly onto the leather which is stripped of oils using a heat plus pressure and chemical process. Robert’s training has been supplemented by taking workshops with master contemporary realists and hyperrealist painters. The paint employed is Golden Brand slow drying acrylic which best imitates oil as leather and oil will not mix.

I start by drafting up one or more jackets, designing the layouts and drawing sketches. It’s necessary to know the number of spikes, studs and other custom accessories as well as name each jacket beforehand. The spikes that are custom colored are sent to a powder coater to be colored inside giant ovens where the powder is shot onto and baked into the pieces. As this is happening, I design my labels in Illustrator and send the file as well as the label material, a type of rubber, to a laser engraver who then engraves and cuts the labels.

Next, I select my leather and cut out my pattern pieces. The leather must be firm enough to support the weight of the metal spikes and studs. Sometimes leather is pre-treated with a top spray depending on the desired finish. Rather than completing the jacket shell and then studding, I assemble (sew) the different sections and stud/accessorize while those sections can still be laid flat; the arms before sewn closed, the left and right front pieces, the back and the collar. Although this leads to having to complete the sewing with the full weight of the studded jacket, it is much easier and more time efficient to do the accessorizing in this order. I’ll break a sweat here!

I further customize the coloured spikes and studs using different methods; extending spikes by fusing on a base, giving studs a shine or patina using various materials and methods; liquid gun blue, glass paint, aerosol, sanding, car buffer pads, to name some. I create 1 inch “plaques” by machine cutting sheet metal while slightly rounding the corners and laser cutting perfect holes close to the corners for tiny screws. Before fixing to the leather, these are treated using one of the above finishing methods. 

The men’s jackets and women’s jackets each have their own painting attachment method. For the men’s, Robert paints onto a cut piece of leather that serves as a canvas. The painting is then sewn onto the back piece of the jacket. For the women’s, the back piece itself is painted and assembled as per usual to the rest of the jacket. Each spike, stud and custom piece of hardware is epoxied closed on the inside after being punched through the leather for added, ultra permanent adhesion.

The silk lining is the last part that is assembled and then sewn, partly by hand due to the weight of the jacket, to the finished shell. The vertical invisible zipper in the middle of the lining provides access to the inside of the jacket as a fun and special feature. The final step is the accessorizing of the lapel and collar. I customize blank, pre-pressed buttons with paint, chemicals and varnish for an oxidized “moon surface” sort of texture. I’ll also vintage shop for antiques like unique pins, pendants and crests that add a last personal punch.

My “Cool” Pitch

Hi Star-Spider,

This is Radiobaby! I shift gears with some of the maddest and baddest rocket ship riders from here to Clazmorphagopolis. I wanted to home in on your beacon today regarding this thing me and my twilight sky-pirates call Up The Antichrist. We happen to love what you do in ways you don’t know and so we wanna propose a conjoining of souls. If your peepers like what they peep and the following apparitions pique that need for something unique then we double-dog dare you to hit that jolly red button for a chance to dance, vastly enhancing that handsome feeling in your pants. One fixed glance into the vast expanse might just moon-land a masterfully crafted jacket in your hands!

We want a righteous celebrity to rip, tear (not literally) and wear one of our superlative skins, rockin' and shockin' the block, knockin’ out even the most rock-solid, cock-sure, fast-talkin' mockers and we want you ‘cuz we know you’re tried, tested and true, Baby-Blue! Much love to you and ALL the star-smashers makin’ the juiciest dreams come through!!

Love & Thunder,

Black Magic Mike and co.