The Gabier Jacket, mfsc SKIPPER Spring 2016

 

The Gabier Jacket
Flamer, Hydrone Blue, Nep Denim
“SKIPPER” mfsc Spring 2016

“I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth, a nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present. In this limitless nation, this nation of wind, light, and peace, there is no other ruler besides the sea.”
Bernard Moitessier, Indochina-born French navigator, minimalist, ecologist, free-spirit sea mystic who in 1968 showed the World how to win a race by losing it, opting for La Longue Route in this Voyage for Mad Men…

Well, I don’t know about you, but sometimes the idea of atoll-hoping in Polynesia sounds much better than whatever I happen to have lined up for the day.
So tell the landlord we’ll be sailing our merry way in turquoise waters through coral reefs and sandy motus for Spring 2016. Looking forward to war fever contained. The Skipper escapes to tranquil shores this season.

The catalyst of the Mister Freedom® SS2016 Skipper collection was mostly the need to take a break from boobytrapped jungles and shrapnel, avoid depressing World news and discouraging reads in general. We also felt like venturing away from ‘heritage’ Dust Bowl salt & pepper grey for a while.
So, as a refreshing breather, we indulged in several fascinating seafaring yarns, from various inspiring eras and parts of the World. And as far as uplifting bedside reading is concerned, tales of adventurous sea escapades and whiffs of tiaré from Tetiaroa sure beat the morning scent of napalm.

This pleasant research took us on a circumnavigating mental journey in the wake of an international cast of salty sea wolves, nautical legends, brass-b*lled adventurers and even Hollywood cast-aways.
Story-wise, our Skipper collection found substance in several real-life accounts from various wanderers of the World, such as Captain Joshua Slocum (1898, first man to sail solo around the World after a three-year voyage), James Wharram (famed boat-designer and Lapita voyage initiator), Eric Tabarly (responsible for providing the French with a new national sport in 1964)…
Back home in California, besides frequent trips to the beach and around the marina, several eclectic writings and deeds from the likes of Louis-Antoine De Bougainville, Jack London, Robert Dean Frisbie, cast-away Tom Neale … also helped to get in the mood.
The documentary Deep Water was a moving insight into the world of yacht racing and an enjoyable watch.

How does all that translate into clothing? Well, although we’ve been into vintage rags for some time now we are not ‘period snobs’, so style influences for this collection are a bit all over the place this season. Stylistic references will basically be spanning from the earliest hominoid sea voyages known to anthropologists (some 130,000 years ago, and maybe not 12,000 as previously commonly speculated), all the way to the days of Eric Tabarly…
There is, admittedly, more of a noticeable 1960’s to late 1970’s vibe to our 2016 Spring concept, rather than, say, a Stone Age caveman wardrobe emphasis. And, OMG, we even threw in a dash of early 80’s!
Mister Freedom®, more than ever catering to the International He-Man of Action, mixing bold colors and patterns.

On a quick serious note, and after some ten years designing wares for the shmata racket under the Mister Freedom® name, we’re actually very grateful to be addressing a mature audience with discerning tastes today, catering to thinking adults rather than having to comply with passing trends and fit fashionable molds. Cheers Gents, much obliged for the support and wit.

So anyways, slap on that Tom Selleck ‘stache and let your Burt Reynolds chops grow, look-up men’s fashion style spreads on old Playboy® zines, turn the volume up on the Motogodille, consider getting lei’d, hop on a Hobie 16, … or just go sit on the beach and watch sails go by for a while.
Sea air does wonders, enjoy it before my Homo Sapiens Sapiens peers mess it all up.

Now, our jacket.
The French moniker gabier is an old maritime term referring to a boatsman specialized in mast rigging and sails. But the MF® Gabier Jacket is by no mean an attempt at a sea-worthy garment by 2016 nautical pro-gear standards. It merely carries a bit of salty air nostalgia.
As a kid living ocean-side in Africa in the early 80’s (Djibouti), I remember bright-colored catamaran sails taking over the horizon at some point. I also remember learning how to maneuver one of those old-school windsurfing boards the size of a large schooner, with giant triangular colorful sails…
The original idea for our Gabier Jacket came from those wonderful vintage sails, with colors spliced together for easy ID at sea, and probably to entertain seagulls. The term “Flamer” is a nod to a specific color combo sail pattern introduced by boat-builder Hobie Cat® in 1975.

Popularized in the 1960’s by the likes of Verner Panton, crazy color juxtapositions had impacted everything from curtains to popular wearables by the late 1970’s. In 1976, although a good year for red white and blue graphics in the USA, an upcoming little venture even opted for a rainbow-colored fruit as their logo.

On a side note, I actually clicked the “BUY IT NOW” button on a boat early last year, a vintage pristine 1976 “Flamer” Hobie 16 (BIN auctioned for $300.00!). I owned it for an evening, until I realized in the morning that I had to hand-deliver the cash, bring the proper trailer to haul it out, and pick up the prize from a remote location on the East Coast… Yes, I too have joined the numb nuts of the Can’t Properly Read eBay Listings Before Bidding Club.
Well, that is my big sailing adventure.

Our Gabier Jacket comes in three fabric options.
a) “Flamer”: The fiery option, a combination of three 9.5 oz. 100% cotton canvas, milled and dyed to our specs in Japan.
b) “Hydrone Blue”: Inspired by vintage French workwear, this 9 oz. selvedge 100% cotton twill fabric was milled and dyed in Japan according to a vintage 1960’s specimen from our archives. The specific color is typical of ’bleus de travail’ (work blues) often sported by French workers and fishermen. It differs from traditional indigo and has characteristic attractive fading properties.
c) “Nep Denim”: In the style of our “Malibu” denim, a lighter hue indigo-dyed selvedge 12 oz. “neppy” denim, milled in Japan.

The Gabier Jacket is designed in California by Mister Freedom® and manufactured in Japan in collaboration with Sugar Cane Co.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that the Nep Denim Gabier Jacket featured on the photos shows a vintage ‘Pied-Noir’ patch. This is a personal addition. The Mister Freedom® Gabier jacket originally comes without any patches, and is left up to you to customize or not.

SPECS:
Inspired by the 1960’s and 1970’s world of sailing.

FABRIC OPTIONS:
a) Flamer, three color canvas combo.
b) Hydrone Blue, solid.
c) Nep Denim, solid.

DETAILS:
* Sail-inspired horizontal spliced panel construction.
* Raglan sleeves.
* Unlined, no open seams, caballo-type chainstitch construction.
* Painted metal snaps.
* Arm pocket featuring an oh-so hi-tech concealed button-hole opening for your iPhone® headphone cable, which you will never use.
* Cinchable waist with pull cord.
* Metal mesh eyelets for underarm ventilation and pocket water drainage.
* Designed in USA.
* Made in Japan.

SIZING/FIT:
We recommend an original cold soak and line dry.
All three fabric options will shrink to approximate similar measurements.
We suggest our usual method for raw cotton garments:
* 30-40mn cold soak with intermittent hand agitation, in minimally-filled washing machine or bath tub.
* Spin dry cycle (if using a machine).
* Hang dry.
* As an optional step, wear the garment briefly when still not fully dry, in order to slightly shape it to your body and set creases. Hang and let fully dry.

As often with mfsc jackets, I am in-between two sizes with the Gabier. I opted for a Size 38 in the Flamer, and for Size 36 for both the Hydrone Blue and Nep Denim. The canvas fabric will not stretch or give so I have to go for a 38 Flamer, but I can pull-off the 36 in the denim and hydrone twill without the underarm being uncomfortable.
What works for you will depend on your own body requirements. Please check the sizing chart or email sales@misterfreedom.com for sizing advices.

CARE:
Wash when hygiene dictates and common sense prevails.
We recommend turning the jacket inside out to avoid marbling of the fabric.
Hand washing can be a good option for those concerned with specific wear patterns and high-contrast colors fades. Otherwise, machine wash inside out with cold water, gentle cycle, eco-friendly mild detergent and line dry.

Available RAW/unwashed
SIZES:
Small (36)
Medium (38)
Large (40)
X-Large (42)
XX-Large (44)

Retail $ 449.95

Soon available from www.misterfreedom.com, fine retailers around the World, and our Los Angeles ol’ pile o’ rags.
Email sales@misterfreedom.com or call 323-653-2014 with any questions unanswered above.
Thank you for your support,

Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom®
©2016

 

 

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