Style Guide: B. Lerche is wearing the Blind Faith Snap-Back Hat (One Size), Constantine’s Bomber Jacket (Large), Maltese Gray Plaid Button-Up (Large), Castor Raw Denim, Indigo (34×33, Straight/Narrow Fit).

Blind Faith - The Protagonist: In the (Blind Faith & Hell Is For Heroes: Preface…link) I stated that the religious military aspects of post-apocalyptic stories influenced this current collection. I want to elaborate briefly about the Blind Faith concept. In my own opinion Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman Emperor who made the Christian religion tolerable throughout the Roman Empire is the perfect candidate for what I call, Blind Faith. It is said and still disputed that during the Civil Wars, Constantine was visited by Christ in a dream and later adorned the symbol of Christ (Chi-Roh or Labarum) upon his soldier’s shields, standards, and later his own helmet. There were many versions of this story but the main point at the end of the day is that; Constantine won the Civil War, made Christianity tolerable, united the West and the East… but a legend still lingers on saying that Constantine himself did not convert to Christianity until on his deathbed. This makes scholars question if Constantine’s purpose was solely a political move, because he needed to keep his Empire stable since the underground religion of Christianity has grown in popularity and in believers since it was founded 300 years prior to his reign. No one will ever know the real truth, but what has gone down in history and legend is that he was present on the battlefield adorning the symbol of Christ, fighting as God’s soldier, reuniting the Western & Eastern Roman Empire and giving tolerance to a once persecuted religion that has changed the course of humanity since his time… and for this reason I based my story of the protagonist within the Blind Faith collection.

Now let’s talk about the jacket…

Constantine’s Bomber Jacket: The Civil War involving Constantine and his vision of Christ’s symbol happened circa 312 AD. The screen printed Roman numerals (army stencil type) on the back CCCXII translates to 312 AD. I thought the Blind Faith theme can be best translated onto a bomber styled jacket when I was researching WWII air force squadrons and saw a particular graphic on the side of a plane with Felix the Cat holding a bomb on it, Felix meaning “Lucky” in Latin… The jacket is meant to be a fusion between a bomber jacket and a sportier baseball jacket with its contrast sleeve ribbing details. The left chest patch, right shoulder patch, and the screen print on the back are all very common placements seen on WWII tanker, deck, aviation styled jackets in the WWII, worn by GI’s. Of course some were regulated government issued jackets and patches but not all… back in WWII it was very common for GI’s to find local tailors and or artists to tailor, draw, paint, or embroider special garments or graphics that are unique to their squads, camaraderie, or needs.

Constantine’s Bomber Jacket / Outer: Features a cotton-poly twill outer shell in black (of course). The fit is slimmer than your standard baseball jacket that is available in the market today. The ribbing on the collar is a bit higher. The decision on the black/white contrast ribbing on the left sleeve was made because we felt too many similar types of baseball jackets are alike and we wanted it to look a bit unorthodox. The contrast sleeve also brings out the details on the two full-embroidery patches. The double welt pockets in front uses the ribbing material instead of your standard self-fabric pockets (see below, picture). The five buttons on the main shell are YKK spring-type snaps in a matte black finish, YKK brand is one of my favorite trim choices to use because it actually works, but pricey. The back of the jacket has a black on black screen printed graphic (see above, picture for details).

Constantine’s Bomber Jacket / Inner: Features a diamond quilted lining, with a minimal filled quilt. A welt pocket is positioned on the inner left side (not seen in photo). We decided to go with a lessor fill keeping in mind that our West Coast fall/winter temperatures can be a bit warmer, usually a t-shirt or a button-up is enough for layering. But for East Coast & European temperatures the thinner quilt allows more layering and styling to be achieved. This jacket is still light enough and ideal for spring seasons too.

Double Welt Ribbed Pocket Detail: This was a unique detail added by Brian (B-Minusculus) during the final sampling phase. Although it’s not a drastic or uncommon feature it added more body to the outer shell. Usually on military styled jackets self-fabric would be used for a welt pocket. For example the same twill fabric would of have been used for the detailing but the use of the ribbing is substituted and adds a sportier and fuller look to the jacket.

Blind Faith Patch Details: Before I talk about this patch I would like to note that our patches are not made by the same manufacture that produces our clothing. These patches are made by a separate supplier that specializes in this trade and each patch is made to our specific details. Have you ever noticed some garments with patches that looks very soft or flimsy, as if the creator or the manufacture of the garment paid more attention to the garment instead of the patches? Well, I have and it bothers the shit out of me when people don’t pay any attention to this minute detail.

The main patch of this jacket is in full embroidery, with our favorite black on black monotone signature. A dash of red is used, because we like red but can’t sell anything with too much red… but really this season we wanted to use yellow and red for a splash of contrast. The white border around the patch was chosen strictly to bring out the contrast of the details on the jacket. (I will go more in-depth with this graphic in another post).

“T” Squadron Patch Details: This patch distinguishes the Triumvir Squadron in a full embroidery patch on the right shoulder. This patch is pretty unique in the way that it will have its own little sub-collection within the Blind Faith collection. I decided to readjust my thoughts and move away from my comfort zone for this one. I have learned that using one graphic repeatedly is pretty boring and a waste of material, for example in the last few years it was customary for Triumvir to use one graphic and put it on a t-shirt, hoody, crew-neck, raglan, or hat. This practice is pretty standard in the clothing industry, why, will if one graphic sells well why not put it on everything you can… making everyone happy? But as the years progressed I’ve taken notice from more established niche brands that this doesn’t really apply to everyone. Our clientele is a niche within a niche and in doing so have transformed Triumvir as a brand in the same way and vise versa. Since our focus has become targeted at a much smaller demographic and not so much towards the masses, why not have more variety in a collection instead of repeating one graphic. I’m still a novice at this…

Victory or Death… I prefer death right now, I’ve been up since 3AM. My schedule have been off since coming back from that awfully sinful place called Vegas…

BRANDON