Our latest drop, a subtle twist on the timeless 1930s-inspired MF® Campus Jacket refitted with easy-to-button vintage-style snap fasteners!
Trim wise, these original MF® branded brass snaps were introduced in 2020 with the western-wear style Maverick Jacket. They have since also been featured on the Roadeo Jacket, Sonny Puffer Vest, and Bronco Champ Type II. That’s how much we dig them.
From the early days — with patent origins in Germany dating back to the late 1800s — metal snap closures on garments and gear have been promoted as more practical, more reliable, and less maintenance than their sewn-on button predecessors. From utilitarian clothing providers to military outfitters to sportswear fashion brands, everyone took notice, and snaps are today ubiquitous.
These days, most First World Homo Sapiens know their way around Tik-Tok and Amazon more than they do around a needle and thread, so snap fasteners will definitely be a bonus. Although knowing how to sew a button back on is never a bad skill to have.
Some behind-the-scene manufacturing tidbits…
The idea about the front closure refit of our Campus Jacket came from how ridiculously fabulous (and vintage legit!) those brass snaps already looked on the veg-tan leather iterations of our Ranch Blouse. But the decision was mostly to address a production-related issue with the old Reece 101 keyhole machine needed to produce those classic buttonholes, machines known in the manufacturing world as temperamental work beasts usually intended and fine-tuned for woven material. Setting up the Reece 101 for button-fly blue jeans is one thing, for thick leather another.
In a nutshell, our leather jackets are produced in a local leather factory (in California, USA), and the buttonholes have to be out-sourced to a local denim factory (also in California, USA.) Lotsa logistics and QC involved there.
For the past few months, our on-going Campus Jacket production has been held back, garments all cut and sewn by the leather factory, but stuck at the buttonhole stage at the denim factory struggling to get its one machine properly adjusted for leather. And this is one stage you don’t want to mess up, as there is no second chance at making a proper keyhole buttonhole on a $1000 leather jacket. One round of lockstitch, one cut from the blade, one chance! Try that nine times on a single garment…
Today, the number of local Los Angeles technicians knowledgeable enough to even understand how a Reece 101 works is a single digit, a sad realization after this fine California city was — at its bygone clothing manufacturing heydays — a hub for sewing factories, cutting factories, sample-making ateliers, pattern makers, machinery experts, skilled operators, designers, etc… Off-shoring (discussed here), corporate greed and fast fashion unfortunately killed our thriving local garment industry, once as successful as the movie industry. In 2024, empty warehouses have replaced the bustling garment-producing factories, save for a few struggling survivors.
So, after a few cups of brain juice at MF® HQ, in good old “improvise, adapt, overcome” survival fashion, we decided to test on three unfinished CAMPUS prototypes, substituting sewn-on buttons with snap fasteners. It worked, both visually and practically!
For the new name, we simply ran out of puns and are calling this Campus Type II the CAMPUS “STUD” — stud fastener being another name for snap fastener —, having contemplated calling it the SNAPPY CAMPUS for a moment.
The brass snap fasteners blend in the 1930s “Cossack” jacket style remarkably well, subtly adding a mid-century twist, and contributing to the elegant vintage classic flair of a garment that never existed but could have, our design MO since 2006.
A run of the CAMPUS STUD is now available in our current grade of hefty (3-4 Oz.) veg-tan cowhide leather, in natural, black tea-core, and “Bison” tea-core.
The “Bison” option is a small limited run and a perfect choice if you fancy a brown leather jacket but find it challenging to commit to the patina journey of the natural model from pinkish-white-to-golden-brown. Introduced with the Ranch Blouse “Bison”, the leather will still age and develop an attractive patina with wear, but you just get a brown color head start!
The MF® CAMPUS STUD in veg-tan cowhide leather is designed and made in California by Mister Freedom®.
NOTE: Production of our OG sewn-on buttons Campus Jacket (in natural and black leather) will resume when we have the Reece 101 situation sorted out, ETA TBD.
