MF S/c Speed-Safe Clothing for Modern Riders
“SPEED SAFE CLOTHING for MODERN RIDERS”
In late 2008, as i was driving around and lost my way in a run down neighborhood in Los Angeles, I stopped in front of an old boarded up store.
The sidewalk had puddles of dried up oil…past traces of leaking engines.
On the store facade, all that was left from the heydays was a crooked rusty tin sign…The brick building seemed to have been abandoned for years.
The sign read: “Speed Safe Clothing for Modern Riders”…
Inside were the real gems: stacks of merchandise covered with 40 year old dust and walls filled with old photos retracing five decades of motorcycle riding…
This was the discovery of an incredible story, that of a Southern California family of three brothers: Lino, a local prize fighter and trouble maker, Marlon, an Army trained airplane mechanic turned hill climber and Eddie, the artist with tailoring skills.
All devoted cycle riders, they opened a Los Angeles Club House/garage in the 1920′s. It became a spot to hang out if you needed tools or spares for your cycle, or just wanted to cool off and talk ‘pistons ‘n broads’.
At the time, motor-cycling was a newborn method of transportation, and riders had to settle for military or workwear clothes and make the best of them.
Feeling the need for specific motorcycle riding gear, Eddie started designing and making clothes all the brothers could wear, on and off their bikes.
Lino, Marlon and Eddie road tested each and every clothing prototype and modified it until it worked. Due to friend’s demand, small production runs were made and sold at the Club House, which turned into a full blown store in the 1930s. It closed its doors in the late 1960s.
For the production, military hardware, close out fabrics and trims were used in the manufacturing. The port of Los Angeles was a busy place and anything was available for who knew where to look. Lino did.
The clothes were purposely designed, sturdy and durable: a riding jacket, work shirt or dungarees had to last you a good chunk of years and help you “keep the rubber down”, focused on the road and not your back.
For Fall 2009 MF x S/c offers a selection of the three Brothers’ Favorite gear, as they were found in that abandoned Club House. The exclusive original designs span from the early 1930s to the late 1960′s. The quantities are again limited, of course…
This Fall 2009 season includes:
* Lino’s “Mulholland Master” riding coat and leather “Greaser” cap.
* Marlon’s leather “Bronco Champ” racing jacket, “Mechanic Shirt”, “Mechanic Sweat shirt” and “Mechanic Cap”.
* Eddie’s denim “Rambler Pack”.
* The brothers’ favorite denim “Rider’s Dungarees” and “Club Shirts”.