Question about an old Indy jacket (Lucasarts?)

[curtishart]

Hi guys. I have an old (late 80s) Indiana Jones jacket and wanted your opinion/expertise on it.

Got it about 87-88...maybe 89 (I think) at Dillard's. I want to say it was on clearance for $100 at the time. It was before The Last Crusade (again, I think - if my purchase date is accurate) so I don't think it was directly tied to the movie release. (but could be wrong)

Was this a LucasArts 'official' jacket? Do you know what company made it?

The only tags on it are the Indiana Jones with a red stitch cargo plane, a tag saying K-34 and an instruction tag on one side saying:

SHELL: GENUINE LEATHER
LINING: (BODY) 100% COTTON
(SLEEVE) 100% NYLON

PROFESSIONALLY
LEATHER CLEAN ONLY
WPL 5924
MADE IN KOREA

Having it for over 25 years definitely has a nice 'weathered' look to it now.

Anyhow - if anyone knows more details about this jacket, I'd greatly appreciate it.

http://s277.photobucket.com/user/Steenk ... y%20Jacket

[Illinois James]

U.S. Wings/Cooper DNA, maybe? Somebody here knows for sure. Dark/shady pics, but looks nice!

[backstagejack]

It looks like it has snaps on the storm flap, does it? If so then it was picked up during or after LC because that part of the design was only in LC and CS.
If it was after LC, I know there was a lot of promotional items and products put out for LC.....

With a tag that actually says Indiana Jones, it definitely makes me think it was produced or distributed by Lucasfilms/paramount, etc. as it would have to be officially licensed product to use that name.

Picked up at a Dillards though? I just wouldn't see Dillard's carrying an official licensed promotional item for a movie such as this.....

but I've been known to be wrong.

Either way it's a very nice looking jacket and vintage Indiana Jones product!!!! Great gear to have!

[Forrest For the Trees]

These show up on ebay from time to time. It is an officially licensed product that tied into the release of Last Crusade. I believe these were the same jackets available through the LucasArts catalogs in the early 90s.

This youtube clip was posted here some time ago. It is a TV commercial for the jacket (same label).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzTBEO6R2fY

[Indiana Jeff]

I remember seeing these jackets in the malls associated with the release of LC. As I remember I saw a jacket in a leather jacket store rather than at one of the major department stores, but wouldn't be surprised they were there too.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[curtishart]

Yes, snaps on the storm flaps. And I'm almost 100% it was from Dillards because tha was the only place my mom shopped at for clothes when she wanted to get me a new jacket

I'm going to say I'm now pretty sure it was bought after LC and possibly this was on clearance, so maybe 6+ months after it hit the theater. Though I could've sworn I had it my senior year in high school ('88) but I guess that's not true

[backstagejack]

Yes, snaps on the storm flaps. And I'm almost 100% it was from Dillards because tha was the only place my mom shopped at for clothes when she wanted to get me a new jacket

I'm going to say I'm now pretty sure it was bought after LC and possibly this was on clearance, so maybe 6+ months after it hit the theater. Though I could've sworn I had it my senior year in high school ('88) but I guess that's not true

The movie came out in 89..... but it's highly possible that the promotional jackets etc were out the year before to build up interest in the movie, etc....

This is just a guess but it would help fit with your timeline.

There are much more educated fellows on this board that could probably tell you the exact date that the promotional products were released, haha.

Still, what a great jacket to have!!!!!

[Canasta]

I have one of these. I bought it from the Lucas Arts Catalog.
The lining is gone, but if I had it replaced, it would still be a great jacket.

Tough.
C

[Chewbacca Jones]

I used to own one with that label, which I got from an old star wars fanclub mag. Definately an LC tie-in. These originally came in a variety of leathers. I actually still had mine after getting into the current offerings that exist. Based on a side-by-side, I would say that these at least shared the pattern origin of the older US Wings offerings, and the similarities in construction are hard to ignore. In turn, it looks to be a foundation for the Nowak CS jacket later on, so if those two connections point to anything else in particular...

I'm leaning towards Cooper.

[Michaelson]

Yeah, but I don't recall Cooper ever having a tie-in with a Korean manufacturer. That's what's puzzling me. USW took over Cooper in 1985 and all their jackets were either made in-house in Stow, Ohio or came from Schott, so the time-line doesn't match for me.

Regards! Michaelson

[Chewbacca Jones]

Yeah, but I don't recall Cooper ever having a tie-in with a Korean manufacturer. That's what's puzzling me. USW took over Cooper in 1985 and all their jackets were either made in-house in Stow, Ohio or came from Schott, so the time-line doesn't match for me.

Regards! Michaelson

Maybe the Korea connection is a result of some legal juggling? Perhaps the patterns got to a korean assembling plant via Lucas licensing? Just spit-balling.

[Michaelson]

That, or a separate contract that LucasFilm did on their own supplying the patterns.

Like you, just tossing ideas out there, as I honestly don't know.

Regards! M

[Ravenswood]

This is the Cooper Sportswear jacket. I came across it in an add as part of my Lucasfilm Fanclub membership.
I asked for the jacket for Christmas '89, knowing full well that being mail order, my parents were less likely to go for it, especially at that price. As luck would have it, our local Hechts department store was selling them. Seeing is believing, and my parents went for it. I think they were slightly surprised at the quality and durability. They were expecting a full on costume piece, as opposed to something that could be worn every day. And wear every day I most certainly did.

Here is a shot of me with my original Cooper, and one following of me with another that I picked up off of eBay in 2010.


Quite nice jackets, and VERY heavy. I got the zipper replaced on my first one, and practically got chewed out by the person who did it! She said the leather was so tough, she had a really hard time getting the needle through. Oops!

[Chewbacca Jones]

Ah, the memories! I really miss that jacket.

[curtishart]

I think the Cooper is the winning answer!

Many thanks for everyone's input.

[CM]

Why not ask Sarge?

[Ravenswood]

By the by, here's another nifty link. Check out the leather on this puppy. It appears to be the same thickness as my first Lucasfilm Indy jacket. So thick, that coat checkers ALWAYS complained on the way to the hanger, lol. Literally, their arm would drop, thinking they were just receiving a regular jacket at standard weight (for want of a better expression), and being presented with a tank with sleeves

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/l ... ket-cooper" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Michaelson]

Why not ask Sarge?

I dropped him a line.

Regard! Michaelson

[Michaelson]

Just heard back from David Hack.

He states these were Neil Cooper and Neil Cooper's father 100%, and were made in Korea in a Cooper contract with LFL. David did not like the deal or product himself, and when he and Neil finally parted business ways, USW severed all ties with the Korean manufacturer.

Only 500 were ever made, sold through JCPenny's and the LFL club, and were terrible sellers. The USW Indy jacket line never really took off until 1995 when USW started selling on the internet.

So, yep, the answer is indeed 'Cooper', but in no way connected with USW products.

Regards! Michaelson

[Ravenswood]

Holy Cazoli, only 500 made? That makes it quite the collectable. They have been showing up on eBay every now and again. I picked up my second one in 2010 from eBay, never worn....and for less than three figures t'boot!

Thanks for getting the info, Michaelson!

[Michaelson]

I agree, but just be aware that the folks at USW aren't fond of that jacket at all themselves.

That said, though, in OUR world, that low number would make them defintely a limited item for collecting.

Regards! M

[Indiana Jeff]

Only 500 were ever made, sold through JCPenny's and the LFL club, and were terrible sellers.

Regards! Michaelson

That number seems awfully low. According to the Wikipedia article on JCPenny's (taken with a grain of salt such as it is) JCP currently operates 1,100 retail stores and at their peak in the early 70's had 2,000 stores. Let's split the difference and say in the late 80's there were 1,500 retail stores. That means only 1 in 3 stores even got one jacket to sell. That doesn't even include jackets kept in stock for the LFL Club sales. Just doesn't add up to me. Why would Penny's even enter into a retail venture where they would only get one jacket for every three locations? I remember seeing an Indy branded jacket in the mall back in the day. I guess I lucked out at one of the few stores.

Or were there other licensees making jackets? If I remember correctly Cooper held the license, but let it expire and no other retailer picked it up including USW because Sgt. didn't want to have to pay so much to LFL.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[Michaelson]

Not sure, but I can state for a fact that in MY experience, I NEVER saw a Cooper Indy jacket in a JCPenny store, and I've had an account with them for decades.

I saw kids versions made in China, but never adult versions, let alone Coopers.

So, maybe it was a very limited market, and maybe, as you suggest, it was also made by another vendor too.

My specific question to him was regarding the Indy Cooper Sportswear version.

USW did drop the license to sell through LFL outlets, but as far as I know they never let the license expire regarding sales thorugh Disney, which also has LFL licensee contracts (heck, they OWN LFL now ), which, I've been told, is still one of their bigger commecial contracts. Not sure where they're being sold though.

Regards! M

[Indiana Jeff]

Do you recall who was making the Disney jackets back in the day? I seem to recall it was Cooper that supplied them, but without digging through threads don't know for sure.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[Michaelson]

Cooper did, and another vendor that no one seemed to be able to ferret out.

Theory was it at the time that it was an off brand manufacturer that was subcontracted by Disney/LFL to fill the gaps in orders that Cooper was having problems filling at the time.

Regards! M

[Adirondack Jones]

I have a Disney jacket from the early 90's that had that same label. The jacket itself though is a much darker color, almost black. I always assumed it was a Cooper.