A military-style bomber jacket, also known as a flight jacket, has in recent years been de rigueur, thanks to its omnipresence in the street style choices of pop and Instagram stars, so much so that retailers everywhere are pressured into selling at least one, although likely a totally uninspired version.

When we encountered this bomber jacket, we were enamoured. Regular readers of SOTD realize how much we love hybrid garments and this one by Christian Dada is in top form. The front is especially appealing because of its semblance to traditional Japanese jinbei (甚平) top, essentially a summer garment (that also includes a pair of shorts, which, therefore, is not like the yukata, which is more of a summer kimono), mostly worn at home and, if outside, usually no further than the gate to collect mail or newspaper.

Christian Dada’s take is, without doubt, meant to be worn much further than the front yard. In place of the tradition ribbed collar and zipper closure, the quilted nylon body has a front with the eri (衿or collar) of the jinbei and is fastened by tape of similar fabric as the jacket. The left sleeve sport a utility pocket no different from a standard-issue bomber jacket. It even has the orange (polyester) satin lining that is usually associated with rescue missions. The padded jacket, we were told, is reversible, but we doubt anyone would want to turn out with the bright orange as a front (although, if you do, you’ll be wearing on the upper left chest sans-serif black text that says ‘nirvana’ in English and Japanese).

To be sure, this is not a Japanese flight jackets worn by kamikaze pilots. This is very much the punk/military idea of designer Masanori Morikawa, who is never afraid to mash things up to yield an effect that is aligned with street sensibility. There’s an element of surprise in this too, which is often missing in clothes that mostly serve to bundle their wearers. Sometimes, it really is not that cold, and you don’t have to zip up to the chin.

Christian Dada ‘Jinbei’ bomber jacket, SGD850, is available at Christian Dada, 268 Orchard Road. Product photo: Fake Tokyo. Collage: Just So