Where Are They Made?

[tda003]

I was idly searching for a comparison between Cooper and Wings A-2 jackets and ran across a thread in the Fedora Lounge. Putting several of the replies together, i gather that Wings makes Cooper. Schott makes Wings (except for Asia). They are all identical to Cockpit, Legendary, Schott and all the other brand labels used by/for the single NJ factory that makes them.
Please note: This is NOT my opinion. I'm just repeating what I read there. The responders were careful to exclude the top tier makers.
What is fact about this?

 

[mulceber]

Quite possibly. IIRC, US Wings bought Cooper when the latter went out of business a couple decades ago. I don't think any of this is much of a secret though.

As for the top tier makers, they're pretty straight forward. They pretty much all tell you where they're located and where they make their jackets: Aero is in Galashiels, Scotland, Eastman is in Devonshire, England, Bill Kelso and Platon's Dubow are both in Athens, Greece, and Good Wear is in Oregon, USA.

 

[tda003]

Thanks. The pricing for Wings & Cooper is different. Is this because of a quality difference like Chevrolet & Cadillac?

 

[mulceber]

Not sure - are the coopers more expensive? If so, I suspect it's because of the name. They were a manufacturer of leather jackets for the military in both WW2 and in the modern era.

 

[tda003]

I just did an eBay search and located a Wings and a Cooper A-2 in about the same condition/size and ending within 2 hours of each other. Both stated to be "rarely worn". No bids on either yet. Starting bid on Wings is $125. Cooper starting is $60. Other than the label, I can see no difference. Of course with no bids on either, it may well not be a fair comparison.

 

[mulceber]

That could very easily just be different sellers appraising them differently. I just checked the US Wings website and the Coopers sell for about twice as much as the wings jackets. I suspect it’s a mark-up because of the name.

 

[dinomartino1]

Schott has a long history of making jackets for for other companies, they used to make horsehide mc jackets for legendary USA which where way better looking than any of their own jackets at the time.

 

[HackerF15E]

i gather that Wings makes Cooper. Schott makes Wings (except for Asia).

I don't know about the involvement of Schott in any of it, but Saddlery, Cooper, and US Wings are all the same lineage of manufacturer.

 

[tda003]

Thank you. I'm quite new to this and still trying to sort it out.

 

[bseal]

Polite correction, rumor has it that Good Wear is in Seattle, WA, while Head Wind is in Oregon.

 

[mulceber]

Ah, thanks for that. My mistake.