Long before KOLJA ANNUSSEK existed, I was a Jeff Hamilton fan. If you grew up on basketball and hip-hop, you know his work even if you never knew his name: the hand-embroidered leather jackets Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls wore after their championships, the Lakers jackets on Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, the custom pieces on Drake, George Michael and Michael Jackson. Arsenio Hall called him the emperor of the leather jacket. To me he was the proof that a leather jacket can be loud, luxurious and personal at the same time.
This is the story of how a message to my hero turned into an invitation to his Los Angeles atelier, and into a friendship.
Who is Jeff Hamilton?
Jeff Hamilton was born in Morocco and grew up in Paris before moving to Los Angeles. He started in denim, launching the first Guess Jeans for men alongside Georges Marciano, then followed his real passion into leather. His jackets became the uniform of winners: NBA champions, Super Bowl teams, Formula 1 drivers, musicians and presidents. He signs every custom jacket he makes. Decades on, his atelier still produces the pieces the world’s biggest names want to be seen in, and collaborations with Supreme and BAPE have introduced him to a new generation.
What drew me to his work was never the logos. It was the craft underneath them: full-leather construction, dense embroidery, colour used without apology. That is the standard I set for myself when I started cutting leather for KOLJA ANNUSSEK.
A message, and an open door
When I started KOLJA ANNUSSEK, I did something I tell every young designer to do: I wrote to the person whose work had shaped my taste. I did not expect an answer. Jeff answered, and he invited me to visit him at his atelier in Los Angeles.
Walking into that space was like walking into the archive of a culture. On the wall behind us in the photo above hangs a jacket with the Seal of the President of the United States. Jeff talked about leather the way a musician talks about an instrument, and he was generous with his time in a way that people at his level rarely are.
KA-SIG 001
I did not want to arrive empty-handed. I brought Jeff a KA-SIG 001, a custom shirt from the first KOLJA ANNUSSEK signature series, made for him.
Handing a piece of my own work to the man whose jackets taught me what a piece of clothing can mean was the moment the label became real to me.
From fan to friend
We stayed in touch after Los Angeles, and we are friends today. Jeff in white python, me in his Chicago Bulls jacket. I would not claim any of Jeff’s achievements as my own. What I took from him is a way of working: make the piece for one person, make it by hand, sign it, and never apologise for how much it says.
That is why KOLJA ANNUSSEK pieces are limited, made-to-order, and sold in person. Every piece can be seen in the showroom before you decide, and a piece bought in the showroom is final: no returns, no replacements, exactly as a signed jacket from Jeff is final.
See the pieces in Paris
If Jeff Hamilton’s work means something to you, you will understand what we are building in Paris. The KOLJA ANNUSSEK private showroom is open by appointment only: leather pieces including the KA Baller, the signature series, and the campaign work from New York and Los Angeles.
Book your visit at koljaannussek.com/contact-us or write to vip@koljaannussek.com. You can also reach us directly on WhatsApp.
Private Showroom Paris. By appointment only.
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