Story of the Style: The Rufino Jacket
J.L. Rocha Collections
Story of the Style: The Rufino Jacket
Our Leather and Suede Cafe Racer
Universal, individualistic, and driven by the senses: these three concepts inform not only our suede and leather cafe racer but also describe its’ inspiration. Rufino Tamayo the 20th century muralist, surrealist, and modernist has left an influence across the globe that can still be felt today. This blog post will share what inspires us from this Oaxacan artist and how it informed our design for the Rufino Jacket.
Inspired by Universality and Traditions
The Rufino Jacket in Suede and Leather
What inspires us about Rufino Tamayo:
Beyond the Art
An Untouchable Fruit
Octavio Paz, noted Mexican poet, once described the artwork of Rufino Tamayo as an “untouchable fruit”, later affirming:
“to look at the work of [Rufino] Tamayo is not to assist in the revelation of a secret, it is rather to participate in the secret that exists in every revelation.”
- Octavio Paz
These descriptions bring to life the tactile nature of Rufino’s art while also displaying his unique additions to his time period. Tamayo’s artistic pursuits were contrary to his contemporaries Rivera and Siqueiros for his beliefs and focuses. Where his peers believed in strong reverence to indigenous histories as well as the embedded nature of revolution in the Mexican cultural DNA, Rufino believed in redefining these beliefs while looking for the essence of objects and concepts. He pursued the cultural DNA of Mexico through colors, textures, and emotions; and rather than idolizing indigenous inspirations, he sought to rescue the indigenous aesthetic to revive it in unique ways.
We are inspired by Rufino Tamayo not only for his work as an artist, but also because of his belief that art can be beautiful “not for what it represents, but for what it is.”
Across Cultures and Counties
Tamayo’s early life can be defined by grit and effort, he was born in Oaxaca where he lived with his mother Florentina Tamayo after his father had abandoned them. The relationship between Tamayo and his mother was full of love, until at the age of 10 she passed away from tuberculosis. In 1911, at the arrival of Halley’s Comet - the orphan Tamayo leaves Oaxaca resolved to become an artist. While many can speak on his Mexican Influence: his mid-childhood employment at his matriarchal family fruit stand, his tenure at the school of San Carlos, and his employment at the National Museum of Mexico; few can ignore his inspired journey to New York with his friend and composer Carlos Chávez.
What inspires us about his time in New York is not the photography that Rufino Tamayo shot or his gallery exhibitions later in life, it was his dedication to the arts. He refused to do any work other than art during his first stay in Manhattan, there even exists a story positing that he was invited to sing in a Broadway show - accepting only on the condition that he can paint the scenery. Later in life, after maying Olga Flores, he returned to New York chosen by the League of Revolutionary Artists and Writers (LEAR in Mexico) to represent their art along iwht four others in the first American Artists’ Congress. Following this, he and his wife Olga remained in New York for the next 15 years until moving to Paris in 1949 and finally returning to Mexico in 1959.
We are inspired by this form of dedication, and are reminded that it is true greatness that contains resolve.
Depth in the Essence of Things
Tamayo once explained his artistic approach to Paul Westheim as follows: "As the number of colors we use decreases, the wealth of possibilities increases". Through this quote Rufino Tamayo embodies the qualities of his work that rely on emotion; he was influenced not only by pre-hispanic ceramics and Mexican culture but also Impressionism, Favuism, and Cubism by French masters such as Ingres, Picasso, and Matisse.
Rufino Tamayo is noted as saying “Do not set out to make Mexican art, or American, Chinese, or Russian Art. Think in terms of universality.” - This quote, his perspectives, and his influences inspire us through the remembrance that everyone can connect to the essence of life’s experiences.
For more on Rufino Tamayo, we recommend watching this riveting presentation by Gregorio Luke
About Our Design:
The Rufino Jacket
A tactile experience based on essence:
The original Rufino Jacket design was commissioned as a part of our Artists Collection by Jose Luis Rocha, representing a counter part to the Rivera Flight Jacket designed by Jose-Noel. The inspiration behind our development of the materials used comes from the same desire to showcase the qualities of well made materials: specifically our Lambskin Suede and Leathers.
We wanted our Rufino Jacket to deliver a subtle luxurious experience that envelops you in Lambskin Leather. This is why we created our black leather for this jacket with a Semi-Aniline pigmentation combined with our proprietary vegetable tanning process to create a rich black without compromising our ability to retain prove scars on the skins. We utilized the least amount of pigmentation in our Maple and Cocoa Lambskin Suede for the same effect.
This means your Rufino Jacket bares not only the legacy and essence of the original material, but will also age with you to carry the stories of your travels.
A true leather and suede racer jacket:
In the interest of being essential, we looked back at leather jacket history. Contrary to our Leisure Front Cafe Racer, and our Minimalist Moto Jackets: the Rufino is the Pinnacle of Traditional Cafe Racer Jackets. Original Cafe Racer Jackets were defined by motorcycle culture, denoted by minimalist aesthetics and round collars.
We designed our Rufino to represent this spirit of conservative individuality by keeping our design minimalistic and adding detail work such as our hand stitched shoulder accents and our double stitched hemming to embody the essence of Motorcyclists and Sartorialists alike.
Beyond leather and design:
The Rufino Jacket is not only an homage to an icon and artist, it is also a namesake for our matriarchal lineage. While our history in leather goods comes from the Rocha Family, our Matriarch Lumadia Rocha-Tamayo brings to our family tree artists, revolutionaries, and inspiration from a myriad of ancestors.
Bearing this namesake is an honor for our family, and we wanted this timeless design to also serve as a tribute to our lineage in regard to both Nomads and Artists. This inspired our Maple and Suede references in the Nomad Collection.
See all three designs below, and click on your favorite to shop.
Closing Notes:
While our family comes from Mexico, we are an American Business and we have travel across the globe to be inspired. We are grateful to be able to offer World Wide Shipping, but additionally we are grateful for a community that allows us to create universally applicable styles inspired by our history.
As referenced in our first runway show at San Diego Fashion Week 2014: “We work in universality, our client is anybody who wants to dress well, who wants to be a classical man, who knows what he’s doing and who really respect the values that we place in our lines” - this is as true today as it was then, and our Rufino Jacket embodies the ability for multiple individuals to incorporate classic styles to their expressions in unique ways.
We hope you enjoyed our article on what inspired our Rufino Jacket, and always appreciate your support on social media by sharing, liking, and commenting on our posts.
Thank you/Gracias