A pair of lederhosen is the central piece in traditional Bavarian costume for men – and lately, leather breeches have been becoming key items for women too. What is more, due to its high quality material and the handicraft skills needed to produce them, real Bavarian lederhosn are the most expensive piece of kit in any Oktoberfest outfit. And although there is no end of models, unlike shirts or aprons, you generally only ever tend to buy one at a time.
So we’d understand if you were on the look-out for a little help in finding the right lederhosen to buy – and have decided to do our bit and award prizes to the best of the 2015 crop in traditional award-show style.
Newcomer of the Year (Men’s) As far as our jury is concerned, there is a very clear winner in this category: Stockerpoint's new deerskin model. It’s harder to be more of the moment than with this understated shade of leather - aged, darkened and nodding towards the current trend for “lived-in” pieces in Bavarian fashion. At the same time, however, Oliver has all of the classic lederhosen design elements such as the button-down flap across the fly, the traditional pouch for a hunting knife on the right-hand side, and buttons made of buckhorn. As a contemporary touch, the braces have been replaced by a belt. Oliver is a pair of lederhosen which keeps up with the trends, without being overly trendy, and is robust enough to be worn for several decades to come.
Newcomer of the Year (Women’s) With ladies’ lederhosen having becoming so popular in recent years, there is no shortage of contenders for the newcomer category. But of course there can only be one winner, and for our jury, 2015’s stand-out new piece is Xenia in old Havanna brown. This pair of women’s leather breeches manages to be both breezily boyish and coyly feminine: the shape and cut is short and tight - we're talking hotpants here - but the stitching and details are spot-on Bavarian. Traditions and trends in one amazing piece!
Comeback of the Year (Men’s) It was a close-run thing: on the one hand, there are all the fantastic Stockerpoint deerskin lederhosen from 2016 that are still just begging to be bought. On the other hand, Krüger Buam has been bringing out a slew of experimental, contemporary pieces in recent years which, although not always immediately successful, soon gain a cult following. And so it is that the Comeback of the Year Award goes to a pair of Krüger breeches with striking white edelweiß stitching: welcome back!!
Classic of the Year (Women’s) Women’s lederhosen are experiencing an unbroken upswing of late – the operative words are “unbroken”, meaning that there aren’t ladies’ leather breeches that went away and are ready for a comeback just yet. That’s why we’re using this category to celebrate the ladies’ lederhosen that have remained relevant since release. And there’s a very clear winner for us here: Jail in dark berry, a short, sexy garment which is going into its foruth season and is still the perfect accompaniment for new looks such as Bavarian-themed t-shirts or denim bodices. Despite its trendy role, however, Jail is also a clearly high-end piece of genuine quality. Bravo!
Lederhosen of the Year 2018 And now, whether for him or for her, we’ve got to settle on one overall winner. Which pair of lederhosen has impressed us Bavarian fashion know-it-alls this season more than all the others. Which pair would be put on a pedestal all of its own? Without further ado, the winner is... these fantastic deerskin over-knee breeches. The amazing thing about this pair of classic men's lederhosen by Stockerpoint is the way the designers have managed to make piece that is both accessible to first-timers and attractive to the experienced. This new effort in the premium deerskin category combines quality workmanship and traditional design with subtle, yet intriguing details such as morse-code style pointwork in place of standard embroidery. It is, quite simply, a work of genius, squaring the circle of fashion, quality, and timelessness - and making itself the clear 2018 winner!