Pike Brothers

American workwear reproduction 1930-1960. Founded by Fabian Jedlitschka and Anna Schafer. Kurabo denim (Japan) on premium lines, exclusive Elephant Skin fabric from Turkey. Bavarian family business, small batch production.

The story begins with a find. Fabian Jedlitschka, browsing vintage items, comes across a label: Pike Brothers, George and Joseph Pike, Portobello Road, London, 1930s. The Pike brothers were tailors for the American army during World War II. Their workshop closed in the late 1950s or early 1960s. That label became an obsession.

In 2008, Jedlitschka and his wife Anna Schafer launched Pike Brothers from Bad Feilnbach, in Upper Bavaria. Neither had expérience in textiles. It is a family business in the truest sense, Fabian's mother helps at trade shows. Early production runs were small batch, each piece an attempt to revive the spirit of 1930s-1960s American workwear with German manufacturing rigor.

The denim comes mainly from Turkey, with an exclusive fabric called Elephant Skin for its density and resilience. Premium models use Japanese Kurabo. The iconic pieces carry names that are dates: the 1937 Roamer Pant, the 1944 N1 Deck Jacket, the 1958 Roamer Jacket. Each number refers to a real military or work garment whose specs Pike Brothers reproduces.

The clientele is specific: vintage car and motorcycle enthusiasts, militaria collectors, historical reenactment fans. Pike Brothers does not play in the same league as heritage fashion brands. It is more niche, more sincere, carried by a couple who built their brand piece by piece, literally, from a Bavarian village of 8,000 inhabitants.