Motorcycle Safety Wear

Handmade in New Zealand

Protective Leatherwear



Our made-to-measure protective leatherwear is designed to provide outstanding durability, comfort and protection in demanding working environments.

Using quality materials and skilled craftsmanship, we create leather garments that not only help keep you safe but also offer a professional appearance and a fit tailored specifically to your needs.

Repairs & Restoration



Quality leatherwear is built to last, and our repair and restoration service helps extend the life of your favourite gear.

From worn seams and damaged zips to alterations, restyling and complete refurbishments, we can restore both function and appearance, helping your leatherwear continue to perform for years to come.

Custom Leatherwear



If you can imagine it, we can help bring it to life. We specialise in custom leatherwear designed around your individual requirements, whether for work, recreation, performance, clubs or personal projects.

Through a simple consultation, we gather your ideas and specifications, then create a unique piece that combines quality craftsmanship with your vision.

Repairs

We have been repairing and altering motorcycle and fashion leather wear for the last 30 years. We can remodel your old favourites, or adjust your new leather garments that just need that little something. We’ll give anything a try!

We can:

Mend tears,especially important for motorcyclists – we also work with new tech fabrics
Replace parts, panels, collars etc.
Restore, colour touch up, hand clean, condition.
Replace bits and pieces, zips, buttons, domes, buckles and all the rest.
Remodel annoying bits like collars or lapels.
Shorten or lengthen bits, sleeves, hems or body lengths or whatever you need.
Resize and reshape garments, up or down.

Products

Our products include designs for men and women. We like to do women’s wear – there is a limited range available out there and it’s a lot of fun to make.

If there is something special you have in mind, we can help you develop your inspiration all the way through to a finished product. We can make just about anything out of leather – so try us!

Motorcycle Wear
Street Wear
Skirts
Vests
Jackets
Pants
Bags
Belts

Safety

Exposed parts of your body are made safe by additional padding.

All seams are double stitched with at least one inner line hidden.

Even with outer layer damage, underlying layers still provide maximum protection.

Double layering makes a critical contribution to garment safety and comfort.

About

At MSW we have been working with leather since 1988 and it’s all hand done, pattern making, cutting and sewing.This might not be the quickest way to do it but it allows us to think on our feet and make those little changes on the spot. It also means that made to measure is our standard approach to construction rather than an exception.

We have been making motorcycle clothing since 1995. When we decided to venture into this area we realized that it came with a responsibility to ensure the safety of the rider as best we could. At the same time, the EEC was starting to look seriously at bike gear and was beginning to introduce standards which would define motorcycle clothing. We decided to follow those.

Construction

Leather

Our weatherbeaten cows have may have tough skins but they make luscious soft supple hides, this combination of strength + malleability makes a superb product. We use NZ cow hide, at 1.2 to 1.4mm thick, this means you have about 3.8 seconds of tear time, and with 2 layers, 18 seconds.

Linings

Leather offers not only protection for your hide, it also can help keep the elements out and a good lining can improve on this. We like to use a weatherproof breathable fabric layered beneath a durable synthetic knit.

This helps keep the weather out.It is not sealed at seam edges so in prolonged rainfall seepage can occur. You are also able to choose other fabrics if you wish.

Body Armour

After seeing the results of many meetings with the road, We have found the users of good quality soft body armour come off very well, and so do their leathers.

This is my choice of body armour too. Why?….. well I know it cannot injure the user any further under crash conditions as hard body armour may if it breaks.

Also, the soft armour absorbs the impact of the road reducing the impact on not only you but the leathers as well therefore reducing damage.

Techniques

The heavy weight bonded polyester thread we use is treated against deterioration from UV light. We double stitch all our seams with at least one line hidden, on the inside of the garment. This means if you grate off the upper layer, you still are held together by the one underneath.

This is extremely important in motorcycle wear and any gear you buy should have it, unfortunately this is not always the case. We use an extra layer of leather on all your vulnerable places, elbows, shoulders, hips, bottoms and knees.

This increases the the tear time hugely and as we have seen over and over again, this is where you need it. We do not use any form of fabric in our garments on the exterior. Experience with crash damage has shown that it is always the first place to tear.

We have also found that excess use of it around the knees and elbows can cause the body armour to move on impact.

Design

After all that, it still has to look good and fit really well. This is also a safety feature as an ill fitting suit cannot protect you if, on impact, your body armour is not where you need it, a smooth fit also slides better.

The less room you have between you and your leathers also means the less room cold air has to sneak in and fill it. Layers of snug thermals under a fitting garment keep you warm and the weather out.

We have designed our figure hugging garments to look great as well. We consider this extremely important! Top grade leather is such an amazing material to work with, its softness, strength and ability to mould to form can make a stunning looking outfit