JELADO Ben Lilly Horse Hide Grizzly JKT Horse hide Semi-aniline Finish Black【AG63432】

Named the "Ben Lilly," this jacket draws its inspiration from the legendary bear hunter who lived from 1856 to 1936. A figure of fierce renown, it is famously said that his relentless tracking and hunting single-handedly cut the North American grizzly population in half. To honor this history, we have completely reimagined the classic grizzly jacket—popularly known in Japan as the kuma-jan—by reviving it with a newly engineered, far superior grade of premium horsehide.

The garment is constructed from our newly developed 1.6mm-thick horsehide treated with a specialized combination (chrome/vegetable) tanning process. By thoroughly rinsing away the chemicals after an initial chrome tan and re-tanning the hide with vegetable tannins, we have extracted the finest natural properties of tannin leather. This method delivers a robust, substantial weight with a texture engineered to develop rich, soulful character the more it is worn.

The leather begins with a light brown base dye before undergoing a traditional surface-dyeing process at a long-established finishing factory in Tokyo, where a black topcoat is meticulously applied to create a classic tea-core leather. For this specific iteration, we applied a semi-aniline finish—blending equal parts pigment and dye—to achieve a deeper, much more pronounced black. This perfect harmony between the deep-penetrating base dye and the thin protective surface pigment yields a magnificent aging profile over time. Because the thin coating leaves the leather remarkably soft—a supple texture that is impossible to achieve with 100% pigment finishes—the jacket offers immediate comfort. As it conforms to your body, the thin topcoat ensures that the underlying brown base tones will surface rapidly with wear.

For the shearling panels, we spared no expense, selecting luxurious North American sheepskin with an exceptionally long, plush pile. The shearling was paddle-dyed to a rich olive hue, a tone we paired beautifully with both the black and choco leather base options. In our ultimate pursuit of an authentic vintage atmosphere, this jacket represents a significant evolution over our previous grizzly iterations. Even the hardware and trimmings are meticulously curated, utilizing genuine tagua nut buttons to complement the historic aesthetic.

While modeled after a 1930s Lakeland grizzly jacket, we have introduced sophisticated design refinements. We modified the sleeves to feature classic button cuffs and omitted the original heavy front belt and buckle configuration, opting instead for clean side-waist adjusters to create a sleeker, more stylish profile. We also reinforced the pocket openings with authentic grommets to further heighten the rugged vintage character. The resulting silhouette is tailored enough to look neat and sharp on the body, yet it retains all the brawny boldness, grand presence, and robust construction expected of a true grizzly. It is the ultimate expression of an urban heritage jacket.

Please note that due to the natural characteristics of premium leather, unique individual variations will occur from garment to garment.