Why the Alfa ” MA-1 ” continues to be a timeless classic, three characteristics and a classic model!

The history of “MA-1” closely related to ALPHA INDUSTRIES

Created in the 1940s as a jacket that could withstand the altitude of jet airplanes

In 1940, U.S. military pilots wore fleece-lined leather jackets. The U.S. Army Air Force was disbanded and the U.S. Air Force was officially established, and the mainstay of military aircraft changed from propeller-driven planes to jet aircraft. The altitude of flight increased dramatically, and the aircraft had to fly at such low temperatures that moisture from condensation would freeze on the surface, so an alternative to leather jackets with low water resistance was sought. The B-15, the world’s first nylon flight jacket and the predecessor of the MA-1, was born around 1944. However, the long fur interfered with work in the cockpit and parachute equipment. The B-15 was then modified and the collar was changed to rib-knit to create the MA-1.

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Alpha’s design became the prototype for today’s MA-1

Dobbs Industries, the predecessor of Alpha Industries, has long supplied the MA-1 to the U.S. military since 1959, when the U.S. Department of Defense asked the company to review its military jackets. The company established the design that would become the prototype for today’s MA-1 by adopting a sage green color that would allow pilots to camouflage themselves during ground operations and using rescue orange for the lining to make them easier to spot in case of distress. In 1961, during the Kennedy administration, the U.S. intervention in the Vietnam War began, and the munitions industry suddenly boomed. As the war intensified, Alpha’s factory utilization rate increased, and the number of employees grew from 100 to over 500. In the early 1970s, the design of the MA-1 was modified. Originally, wool was used between the nylon outer and lining, but polyester-based fibers were newly used. This further reduced the weight of the MA-1.

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Transition from military to fashion item

When the Vietnam War ended in 1975, veterans were allowed to bring back the flight jackets they had worn in the war. This allowed the MA-1 to gain citizenship outside of the military. After the delivery to the military was completed, Alpha manufactured the jackets according to the same mil-spec specifications as the military in order to utilize the surplus supplies. The jackets were to be sold at military surplus stores. As a way to internally distinguish between jackets actually shipped to the military and those sold in the private sector, a separate tag design was devised. While jackets delivered to the military were labeled with an identification number and a single horizontal line, jackets for release were labeled with three black horizontal lines, and while some imitation flight jackets made by manufacturers other than Alpha were mixed in with the single-line jackets, the three-line jackets were only made by Alpha. As a result, shoppers at the emission supply stores began to notice that the three-striped jackets were very good: they were identical to the jackets worn by U.S. military pilots and ground personnel at U.S. military bases around the world. Naturally, the three-line jackets sold well.

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In the 1980s, the end of the Vietnam War and the Cold War with Russia led to a decline in military demand for the MA-1. On the other hand, demand for the MA-1 as a fashion item increased, and Alpha shifted its focus from a business for the U.S. military to a global brand for the general market. The brand logo was changed to a design inherited from the three-line boom, a trend that became more pronounced in the 2000s, when the brand became recognized as a leading military brand. Today, the brand sells a modernized version of the traditional MA-1, which has inherited its 50-year long history, and offers a variety of variations, including models in colors other than sage green, models with patches, and leather models with special specifications. Considering that more than a certain number of fashionable people can be seen wearing Alfa’s MA-1 at every Pitti Uomo, it is clear that it is widely popular as a fashion item.