A racy history
1953: Marlon Brando turns the motorcycle jacket into a fashion classic in “The Wild One.”
1967: Brigitte Bardot sings a song called “Harley-Davidson” and poses with the inspiration in over-the-knee leather boots and matching leather shorts.
1968: Marianne Faithfull leaves her husband and gears up in a black leather one-piece for a tryst with her lover in the film “Girl on a Motorcycle.”
1969: Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper simultaneously rebel against the status quo and inadvertently define casual cruiser fashion for decades with “Easy Rider.”
1971: Steve McQueen’s appearance in “On Any Sunday” makes an instant classic of his Dakar-style off-road racing jacket.
1974: New York City punks the Ramones burst onto the scene in matching leather motorcycle jackets.
1980: Joan Jett sings her bad-girl anthem, “Bad Reputation,” in her trademark leather jacket.
1985: “Desperately Seeking Susan’s” Madonna rocks a leather jacket.
1991: Photographer Peter Lindbergh outfits supermodels of the day in Brando-esque biker boots, caps and Chanel jackets for Vogue.
-- Susan Carpenter
