What’s a girl to do when it’s hot outside, but not hot hot? As in, when it’s too hot for a big faux fur but not hot enough for no jacket at all? Some might point to the humble vintage denim. Others might opt for a loose bomber over jeans. But what I’m seeing a lot of this spring? And what I have at least three of myself, procured from various car boot sales? The zip-up motocross-style leather, with the wrap around popper collar. Usually worn quite tight.
You know the one I’m talking about. Think: the black zip-up leather from Gucci’s spring/summer 1999 collection, famously worn by the Beckhams during that same year for a Versace event (and also by Julia Hobbs in the British Vogue office every single day this week). Or else the Miu Miu Naplak from their spring/summer 2025 ready-to-wear collection, currently being road-tested by every cool girl this side of fashion month. See also: the Hackers-style zip-up on the autumn/winter 2025 runway for Coperni, and those structured motocross jackets for Off-White’s autumn/winter 2025 collection.
Essentially, if the colder months were all about big slouchy brown leathers, spring has emerged as tight little zip-up season. From model Amelia Gray (and everyone else, it seems) gallivanting around Paris fashion week in the aforementioned Miu Miu jacket to the sheer number of the tiny vintage motocross jackets I’m seeing around the usual London street-style spots, the jacket style has become the go-to option for those of us trying to be warm but not too warm during this weird, in-betweeny part of the year.
Obviously the motocross jacket trend isn’t a totally new thing (it’s eternal!). We first started seeing the style accelerate – especially the colourful, thrifted kind – in the early 2020s, when celebs like Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber started looking like they’d just stepped off the set of a 1990s cyberpunk movie. And while the jacket is generally timeless, what we’re seeing a lot more of this year are that same silhouette but in plainer, blockier colours. Tight zip-up leathers in all blacks and all reds, worn with skirts or low-rise jeans.
Though the Miu Miu jacket is a cool £3,950, you don’t have to literally sell your body parts to cop this jacket style. There are plenty of secondhand options to be found in charity shops, car boots and online thrifting spots – like the Vogue Vintage Sale, where Hobbs nabbed hers. And, honestly, they look good with everything. This office might have air con, but I’m wearing mine right now.
