Sadly Peter Botwright has passed away last week after a lifetime of providing leather costumes and goods to the film and entertainment industry. Hard-core Indy fans will know of his work, but for the rest, Peter made Indiana Jones’ iconic leather jacket for Raiders of the Lost Ark and Last Crusade.
Designed by Deborah Nadoolman, Peter made up fourteen jackets for Raiders based on a modified James Dean pattern. There’s a good write-up of the full circumstances around the jacket over at IndyGear, with some additional background at TheRaider. Peter’s company Wested Leather continued to make replica jackets but the website is down as a mark of respect. In addition to Indiana Jones, he’d worked on Das Boot and both the Bond and Mission Impossible franchises.
Peter’s passing was announced on Wested Leather‘s Facebook page and the business hopes to continue once affairs are in order. I’ve personally bought a few leather items from them (not an Indy jacket!) and I can thoroughly recommend them.