Since 1981 our family-run business, based in The Scottish Borders, has pioneered the reproduction leather jacket industry. We’re seen by many as the manufacturers of the finest and toughest leather jackets in the world, leading the way in handcrafting jackets based on the iconic styling 1920s-1960s to a standard as hard-wearing and exquisite as the originals, as well as becoming one of the industry leaders in authentic recreations of WW2 Military jackets.
We’re also famed for our outstanding customer service, working patiently and meticulously with every customer, from first time buyer to leather aficionado, to create their dream jacket.
We’ve set these standards and built our reputation through our uncompromising attitude toward authenticity and quality. Our philosophy is comprised of three main elements:
We’re also famed for our outstanding customer service, working patiently and meticulously with every customer, from first time buyer to leather aficionado, to create their dream jacket.
We’ve set these standards and built our reputation through our uncompromising attitude toward authenticity and quality. Our philosophy is comprised of three main elements:
Vintage style
The period between the 1920s to the early 1960s was the golden age of clothing design and fashion - one that stands in stark contrast to the decades of fast fashion that followed. It was an era of stunningly designed and impeccably made clothes, when utility was blended effortlessly with style and when things were built to last. As far as Aero is concerned, from the jackets we make to the way we make them, time has stood still at 1960. If it wasn’t produced before then, we don’t produce it. We exclusively manufacture jackets from the preceding four decades, either our own designs inspired by the period’s fashions and trends, or lovingly and painstakingly recreating its most iconic styles, all for the modern purchaser who appreciates the unmatched quality and style of this golden age.
Whether it’s our series of utility jackets inspired by 1920s/1930s workwear, our range of motorcycle jacket recreations of the 1950s, or our faithful reproductions of U.S. and British WW2 Flying Jackets, we take iconic vintage styles and craft them the traditional way. What started with the reproduction of a single A-2 flying jacket followed by our now legendary ‘Highwayman’ in the early 1980s, has grown to become a range of over 100 classic coats which evoke the high points of early-mid 20th Century fashion and culture.
Finest Materials
Since Aero’s inception, we’ve only ever worked with the very best leathers - beginning in the early 1980s with Connolly Steerhide - the same upholstery leather used by Rolls Royce, Aston Martin and Bentley. Soon after, we pioneered the industry shift to Horsehide jackets using the world-renowned Chromexcel Horsehide from Horween. In all the years since, we’ve continued to source and work with a range of the finest leathers from around the world, including recently introducing our range of stunning Italian Vegetable Tanned Vicenza Horsehides and Badalassi Steerhides.
We hold the rest of our materials to the same high standards. Alongside esteemed names like Lochcarron Tartan and Harris Tweed, every material that lines one of our jackets, as well as the buttons that close them, are of the highest grade and our zips are sourced from the best repro manufacturer we could find in Japan. Even our stitching is 3.25 times stronger than required. When it comes to the quality, we won’t associate our name with anything but the best.
Expert Craftsmanship
From start to finish, each Aero jacket is entirely by hand in our factory in Scotland and with no shortcuts - an approach to workmanship that’s unfortunately increasingly rare these days. Our devotion to traditional working methods, refusal to cut corners or accept anything less than the highest standards demands a team of highly skilled and experienced workers.
Many of our team have been with us since the late 1980s/early 1990s and work alongside some of the best graduates of the world-famous Heriot Watt Textile University (the UK’s leading textile university) to continue to craft our jackets with the same passion and quality that has become synonymous with Aero over the years.
We don’t produce on a cost saving production line. Our specialist leather technicians select and quality-inspect each hide before skilfully hand-cutting every panel individually – matching colour, grain, weight and characteristics with expert precision. Every Aero jacket is then made on a traditional walking foot machine by one experienced and highly skilled craftsperson, taking great care and enormous pride in their work. The jacket then heads for a rigorous 28-point inspection to ensure the jacket’s craftsmanship has met the quality standards that are expected of an Aero Label.
Many of our team have been with us since the late 1980s/early 1990s and work alongside some of the best graduates of the world-famous Heriot Watt Textile University (the UK’s leading textile university) to continue to craft our jackets with the same passion and quality that has become synonymous with Aero over the years.
We don’t produce on a cost saving production line. Our specialist leather technicians select and quality-inspect each hide before skilfully hand-cutting every panel individually – matching colour, grain, weight and characteristics with expert precision. Every Aero jacket is then made on a traditional walking foot machine by one experienced and highly skilled craftsperson, taking great care and enormous pride in their work. The jacket then heads for a rigorous 28-point inspection to ensure the jacket’s craftsmanship has met the quality standards that are expected of an Aero Label.
And it’s not just jackets
Although our jackets are what we’re famous for, over the years we’ve designed and curated a large range of clothing and accessories to compliment the jackets we make. Whether it’s our own range of classic knitwear and footwear, the Denim we carry from Lee Japan and LVC or the Goodwear T-Shirts and Pike Brothers clothing range we stock, everything that we manufacture or sell has to meet the same guiding principles as our jackets: the best vintage styles, expertly crafted from the finest materials – otherwise, it isn’t Aero.