Hi, I’m Leilah - founder of R. West.
My obsession with leather jackets began in 2008, when I bought my first vintage piece: a WWII-era B-3 bomber. The difference was immediate. The weight. The texture. The hardware. The construction. It felt alive in a way modern jackets simply didn’t.
What started as collecting quickly became studying. Over the years, I’ve handled and analysed hundreds of vintage jackets from 1920s Cossacks to 1950s motorcycle jackets. I measured them, deconstructed them, compared panel shapes and stitch counts, learned the language of hide, lining and hardware. Some I kept. Many I reluctantly let go. All of them taught me something.
During the pandemic, while temporarily residing in New York, I posted a photo of a few pieces from my collection and discovered an entire global community of leather and heritage obsessives. It was inspiring - but it was also clear that the finest jackets in the world were almost exclusively designed and marketed toward men. Female jacket enthusiasts were few and far between and I attributed that to the sub-par quality of choices that we were offered in comparison to our male counterparts.
I wanted to change that.
Back home in London, I began developing what would become R. West - drawing on vintage motorcycle, military and workwear patterns, refining proportions, sourcing period-correct hardware, and building relationships with specialist tanneries and craftsmen around the world. Every jacket is rooted in historical accuracy, but built for modern life.
Today, R. West and Olympia leathers are about creating future heirlooms - jackets that improve with age, tell the story of their owner, and outlast fast-fashion trends entirely.
This brand was built from obsession and it will always remain that way.