Leather Love! Hands On, Sustainable Building with Karleen Eberle founder of Raven Rova

Back in 2022 I was honored to be part of the FIT Sustainable Fashion alliance project. We worked with Amber Valetta, international model and human rights advocate and More or Less Magazine. Six FIT alumni were selected to make up-cycled fashion looks, we auctioned them to support anti-slavery efforts in the garment industry. Yes, that's a real, live problem in our world today. 

Read the article! Fit Model in More or Less Magazine

I was invited! 1 of 6 FIT alumni of all time! WOW! What an honor!

Raven Rova stands out because we make a high quality, sustainable product. Our mission is 100% to empower women! Sustainable fashion is not limited to organic linen dresses or recycled poly t-shirts. Sustainable is a holistic practice and ethos. I go deep, I nerd hard on this! 

Sustainable Fashion Values: 

1) Value the humans who build your garments, treat them right, prioritize their health and well being. 

2) Use quality materials that will stand the test of time, responsibly sourced. This could mean leather from food source supply chain, it could also mean buying "dead-stock" from a retail supplier like Mood Fabrics or a wholesale warehouse 

3) "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without." Buy quality once. Buy consignment/second hand. Donate/buy at local shops that keep garments in the community (St. Vincent de Paul, Out of the Closet are excellent choices). Up-cycle! Turn those old t's into bike rags, transform your old jeans into an apron or tote bags, go wild FIT alumni style and make some funky fashion! 

Amber Valetta sent me her vintage leather jacket to up-cycle! What a treat! I turned it into a leather corset; built from a pattern I developed at FIT all those years ago. I have refined the pattern since, but the original is from way back!

As I tore it down, I imagined the life it had. There was glitter in the pockets, it had the scent of night clubs, the collar was worn - just like mine. I could feel all the memories this jacket had lived! I was giving it new life! I also love tearing down a garment with a razor blade, it's brute force and it's very satisfying. Deconstruction leads to re-building. That's life, right there. 

I built this original corset pattern way back in 2007 at FIT! I've refined it several time since, but the foundation is from my technical, hands-on training at FIT - I thought that was on point for this project! I also got hands-on training at the UW-Madison from 2004-2007, walked away exhausted with 2 college degrees. 

I create ALL the Raven Rova patterns, I take YOUR size data, I craft these patterns by hand, on my dress form. When I get them wrong, I take it back to the form and try again. "Ride, Wrench, Repeat!"

Then I work with super pro pattern makers to scale up the sizes digitally. This is called "grading."  We don't waste trees or fuel shipping paper patterns, we work digitally to save resources. it's more work and more math on my end, but I love it. Design and pattern making are math and data heavy skills. Design is how stuff works. then how it looks, if you hit the sweet spot the function and form sing in harmony! 

I also got this gorgeous wool Yoji Yamamoto skirt! It was a funky asymmetrical number, laced up the side. I re-tailored it to be symmetrical, re-worked the ruffle and added this gorgeous tie dye tier. I also re-dyed it, I discharged the black commercial dye then over-dyed a deep warm hue. 

When it looks simple in the end, you know you did it right! 

Oh, I did all this on a size 12 dress form. So, check out how they styled the shoot! I love how creative this is! 

Why is Raven Rova sustainable ?

1) The humans who build our gear are the top priority! 

Raven Rova's production team is full of skilled humans who work M-F, 9-5. They shut down for ALL religious and national holidays. They're paid well! 

Longview and Atlas Industries was started in 1969 by a man who loved motorcycles, now his eldest son is the executive director. I work with him directly. They ride, they build gear, they do social work in their community. In fact when I met him, he'd recently survived a bad crash and his family had begged him to not ride anymore. He had a young son and his family was scared of loosing him! About a year after I met him, he got a new Hyabusa and started riding on the track again! I know some of you can relate to this experience, I certainly can. 

How did I meet them ?

My first job in fashion was sourcing, buying waaaay back in 2009. A well known fashion company hired me to do more "sustainable textile buying." That was short lived, profits were prioritized and the lead designer who hired me was also fed up and left the company. I went rogue, started community gardens with a non-profit and worked with an indie brand that I liked a lot better! Then I pivoted to technical gear R&D and marketing.

I spent my teens and 20's sewing couture gowns and bridal, so after college I dove into sourcing and technical gear development. It was a quirky journey, I found myself working with retired guys who lead fishing trips in Truckee and  at The North Face doing ski and snowboard gear colorways.... tents and packs happening in the next room. I had also swung over to nerdy software development this point - lotsa parallels! I also kept doing hands on stuff, I worked with a hand painted, block printed clothing company YeahYeah! Pony Prince and started my own eco-fashion line, joined a collective, Metis Makers and was hustling like crazy! By 2016 I was a little burned out. I went back to school for business and marketing, my friend was in a horrible motorcycle crash....and then things started clicking into place with Raven Rova! I started R&D in 2016.

So I was pounding the pavement at the biggest fashion trade-show in the world in Feb 2018, I was on a quest to find my production partner and I found them! They recognized my technical design skill level, they recognized the NEED for women's gear and we formed a strong partnership in 2018. Passion for riding, passion for taking care of our people brought us together! 

They make gear for all the big names (yes that's a brag). They also pay for the education of all their employees kids in elementary school (school isn't free/public in Pakistan) and provide lunch to their staff. They are highly skillled, well trained garment industry professionals. They usually have a staff around 100 working (not huge, but not tiny). During covid, they had 1/4 capacity; they shut down for 2 weeks to plan, then rotated staff about 25 people at a time in the facility. This way everyone could keep working but health was a priority! 

2) we use quality materials 

Because it's reusable, it lasts for decades if you care for it right. Good leather sources come from the food supply chain. Responsible farming takes care of the environment (I grew up on a 3rd generation farm in WI, my mom is a landscape architect who specialized in bio-retention. I can also go on this tangent!)

Cordura is tried and true, it can withstand a slide. The only downside of cordura is the melt factor, if it nicks your hot pipes it will melt.

That's why our Falcon Pants have that big leather panel on the shin! No melting! Durability is also why we put perforated leather panels in the inner thigh area. You know that's where you grip the tank and where things get a little hot, that's why we upgraded to perforated leather after prototype rounds. 

Leather Fetish: 

I love high tech textiles, but you've got to understand they are all petroleum based.

Anyone whose been down, slid in textile gear will also tell you - it's typically one time use situation. That gear took the impact (hit the ground) and abrasions (slide) and saved your ass, did it's job. When I low sided in 2019, wearing my Raven Pants they actually took the impact and abrasion just fine! The pants had some scratches, but they did not shread at all! I have pics, I'll dig 'em up.

But my leg swiped the HOT exhaust pipe coming off the bike, I the pant leg melted in a couple spots down by the boot zipper. I retired that particular pair of pants. 

Actual Phoenix Jacket I slid in. About 3 weeks post-crash. 

I want to reiterate; I LOVE textile gear. Cordura is one of the most tried and true materials we have, it's light, it's breathable, you can piece it with Kevlar and Leather panels for the utmost protection and comfort. It's also a heck of lot more cost effective to buy, and it's less labor for the people making the gear. So, I'm not dissing Cordura or Kevlar textiles here! But I want to stress WHY I love leather, and why Raven Rova is sustainable. 

So, I'l close this write up with a teaser....stay tuned for the official debut of our Raven Jacket! This is the prototype version, I've made some improvement. You can scoop a limited number of Raven Black Leather Jackets this fall! 

Phoenix Jackets are also available! That's the model I slid in, I'll be sharing that photo story next week. I've got a handful of Phoenix jackets in red and white too!

AND looking forward...the next leather item we'll bring to market is our #2 most requested item, the Black Phoenix Leather Pants! Coming in 2025! 

ALL our gear is made in a CE facility, constructed to CE specs. We're also getting our third party CE testing done in 2025. But that extra seal of approval will allow us to sell in EU countries. A-AAA is for leather only, grades B-C are for textile gear. Textile gear can not receive grade A-AAA, so watch out for that sneaky click bait. 

Of course, leather is spendy and you don't want thin fashion leather or faux leather on the bike. Vintage moto jackets are a mixed bag, if they don't have armor pockets I'd save them for the club - not the ride. If leather jackets are out of your budget right now, don't dispair! Textile gear is GREAT, we've got our gorgeous Falcon Jacket at a steal, it comes with the same armor, metal zippers, and zip-out thermal liner to keep you warm all year! 

Keep the rubber side down! 

Love,

Karleen