PIECE OF WORK

Free People re-invents the leather jacket--and creates wearable art in the process.

There's a reason the leather jacket is a wardrobe staple: it's about as iconic and timeless as you can get.

But if we're being honest, it's also pretty likely that you won't be the only person at a party sporting a moto coat over your concert tee or vintage dress.

Cue Free People, who came up with a way to wear a leather jacket without looking like everyone else. The retailer brought 15 leather and suede jackets to some of their favorite artists (including The Wild Unknown, Fanny Bostrom, Lizzy Janssen, John David Mahaffey, Melanie Bendavid, and Carrie Yotter), who then hand-painted and customized each one. That's right, no two are the same--and not just that, but you're basically walking around with a work of art on your back. (They're taking the art component very seriously: Each jacket also includes a hand-stitched label featuring the artist's signature.)

You can get your hands on one of these very limited edition pieces starting Wednesday, November 7 on FreePeople.com--but you better be quick and have your credit card ready, since they're going for upwards of $1,000. Which, in the grand scheme of things, is a steal when it comes to artwork; in this case, you're also getting a killer vintage jacket and a lifetime of not having to worry about showing up in the same outfit as your friend.
REBECCA WILLA DAVIS

This story was published on November 2, 2012.