Tom Cruise's Top Gun Jacket Raises Political Debate; Know About The Iconic Piece

About 30 years ago in 1986, Tom Cruise gave us one of the most iconic cinematic character, Pete 'Maverick Mitchell. He played the role of a young naval aviator in the movie Top Gun and apart from his acting skills, the other element from this cult movie that came into the limelight was his bomber jacket. The iconic jacket resurfaced after the trailer release of the sequel of the 1986 blockbuster, Top Gun: Maverick. The jacket led to a political debate on social media but why? Let's find out and talk about that jacket from a fashion perspective too.

PC: Paramount Pictures

So, in the original 1986 movie, Tom Cruise wore a leather bomber jacket but it had Japanese and Taiwanese flag patches. And in the latest movie, while the leather jacket is the same, the Taiwanese and Japanese flags are removed and instead some similar-hued patches are inserted. So, the missing flags in the new jacket became the topic of speculation. By some netizens, the reason cited was to pacify China as both the countries, Japan and Taiwan have tumultuous relations with China. The others believed that the flags were removed because of a different storyline this time. Paramount Pictures (owned by Viacom and Tencent Pictures) have not released any statement regarding this.

There’s a new Top Gun movie coming out. And Maverick is wearing the same leather jacket - only this time it’s Communist Party of China-approved, so the Japanese and Taiwanese flag patches are gone (screenshot on right is from the new trailer)... pic.twitter.com/gUxFNFNUKX

— Mark MacKinnon (@markmackinnon) July 19, 2019

So, moving on from the issue and concentrating on his jacket, we have a strong feeling that even the new bomber jacket is going to be a rage for years. And did you know? The original black sturdy leather jacket was commissioned by the US Navy. The sheepskin collar jacket made a strong case for biker jackets and post Tom Cruise's Top Gun outing, the logo designs also came into fashion. Now, after the trailer release of Top Gun: Maverick, this kind of jacket is expected to rule the trends.

However, it is not to say that these jackets were ever out of trend. In fact, Tom Cruise's leather jacket has become a timeless piece, which gives a class apart effect. This military jacket fits well into the pop culture narrative and have been a source of inspiration for many designers. For instance, Sooraj Barjatya was inspired by Tom Cruise's Top Gun jacket and he designed the jacket for Salman Khan in Maine Pyar Kiya based on the same design. So, who is going to invest in this jacket of Tom Cruise's (Well, who doesn't want to ace this look!)? Let us know that in the comment section.