Shake up your wardrobe for spring with a statement racer jacket; the sporty, boxy jacket is a brilliantly unexpected outerwear option to wear with eveningwear and a great way to update your basics for the daytime, a leather racing jacket is a worthwhile spring investment.

One of the best available is Kitri’s Ada jacket, a structured but not too oversized, stripy, sporty, statement style that will work with everything from floor-sweeping dresses and lace-trimmed vests to baggy mid-wash denim and everything in between. 

Haeni Kim, Founder, Kitri says, “I love to balance feminine dress silhouettes with more structural, masculine jackets. Moving on from bomber jackets which have been on trend for a little while now, I loved the idea of creating a vintage-inspired motorcross jacket that felt more grown-up. Something chic and playful that can toughen up more feminine silhouettes when worn together. I love the oversized shape of the Ada and the softer vintage black colourway with red racing stripe is a classic that can be worn with jeans and boots during the day and over a dress in the evening. We’re also obsessed with the silver style in general in the studio and whilst you might think it is a little intimidating in the beginning it’s my favourite,, it just lifts any outfit and particularly looks great when worn with black.”

The catwalks were awash with inspiration of how to wear leather jackets too; Khaite’s boxy leather jackets were worn with either leather mini skirts or floor length skirts with heels peaking out from the skirt hem. Louis Vuitton showed a more elevated, fluid racer-inspired jacket in lemon and black and another in soft blush and tomato red, both collarless and waist length with voluminous sleeves and styled with ankle-grazing skirts and heeled pumps. For daytime inspiration Celine showed casual sporty jackets with side-stripe joggers and shoulder bags, JW Anderson showed cropped leather jackets with cargo trousers and flats while Longchamp showed retro-sporty bombers worn with ankle-grazing dresses and flat sandals.

The Reiss x McLaren Formula 1 Team Collection launched this month and features an elevated leather jacket emblazoned with McLaren F1 logos. The wider collection reflects Reiss’s signature tailoring and timelessness with highlights including wide-leg jogger style trousers, tobacco leather trousers and short-sleeved silk shirts featuring intricately hand-painted print placements of Formula 1 race destinations including Miami, Monte Carlo, Las Vegas and Silverstone.

Opening image: Mango

Additional imagery: courtesy of brands