Silver Phoenix Sukajan 'Otori'

A silver phoenix rising through cherry blossom across the back, on black with champagne sleeves

The phoenix on the back of this sukajan is embroidered in silver and gold, wings spread to the shoulders and tail feathers trailing to the hem, rising through cherry blossom in pink and white that scatters across the whole back and onto the champagne satin of the sleeves. On the chest, the blossom alone, a spray on each side of the zip with a few petals falling. Black body, champagne sleeves, ribbing black and cream.

It is the softest of the phoenix sukajan, because the blossom takes as much room as the bird and the champagne sleeves keep the jacket pale, and it is the one for spring.

The name, Otori, is the great bird, the phoenix in its oldest Japanese name, and the bird on the back is drawn at full span.

Every motif is embroidered, not printed, in dense satin stitch that stands off the cloth and catches the light as you move; that is the point of a sukajan, and it is why the jacket weighs what it does. The body is a satin blend with a soft sheen and a light quilted lining, and the collar, cuffs and hem are a ribbed knit, the construction of every sukajan since the first ones were sewn for American sailors in Yokosuka. It zips at the front and has a slash pocket at each hip. It washes cold, inside out, on a gentle cycle, and dries flat.

Wear it over a white tee and white trousers, as in the photograph, or over black to make the champagne sleeves and the silver bird the light. Nothing else with a pattern.

From across a street it is a black-and-cream bomber with a pale bird on the back. From close the phoenix has every feather in silver and gold, the blossom every petal in two pinks, and the sleeves show the petals continuing. It is the sukajan for a spring evening, and the bird on it is the best-embroidered in the range.

The sleeves are set in raglan, and the blossom on the back runs onto the champagne satin so the arms are pink from the shoulder to the elbow. The bird's wings reach the seam and stop, which is the right place, because a phoenix should not be cut by a sleeve.

The champagne satin is a pale warm gold, and the ribbing repeats it in cream stripes on black at the collar, cuffs and hem.

Sizes run from M to 3XL. It is cut to Asian sizing and runs small, so take one size up from your usual. Between two sizes, take the larger.