Mission Workshop’s new Friija Collection features leather that is truly amazing. Made up a duffle, a jacket and gloves, the collection ranges in price from $180 to $1,450. That may sound pricey, but the quality of the leather completely justifies the cost. The brand utilized Kero leather from Sweden, a reindeer leather that is soft and flexible like lambskin, but also incredibly durable.
The reindeer roam free for most of their lives and are harvest by the Sami people of Northern Sweden. The hides are then vegetable-tanned by third-generation craftsmen at the Kero Leather Tannery almost 50 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The small-batch production garners beautiful lightweight hides which are dyed black for Mission Workshop.
To complement the small-batch leather production, Mission Workshop worked with notable designers to produce each piece. The gloves are made in California by Paul Wood from Philleywood and include index-finger touchscreen conductivity, light palm padding and fourchette paneling. The 26L duffle is made at Kevin O’Donnell’s Sterthous workshop in New York City. It utilizes HT500 nylon and YKK Aquaguard zippers for added functionality. The jacket is also made in NYC and features a high-performance 37.5 lining.
If you order pieces from the collection now, you’ll also save around 20 percent on each item. If you need a reason to splurge on some new leather, and the story of Kero leather isn’t enough to hook you, the pre-sale savings should tip the scale.
The Varis Gloves by Mission Workshop $180
The Okta Weekender Duffle by Mission Workshop $745
