Market Scene : Colombians Take a Shot at Making Ideal Jacket : The bulletproof clothing lets its wearers look fashionable while taking a hit from a .44 Magnum.

They were just a couple of young graduates from Bogota’s University of the Andes, both majors in business administration, when they hit upon a great idea--a natural for this violent country.

Miguel Angel Caballero, using his expertise in apparel, and John Murphy, who knows a thing or two about security, combined their talents to design a line of bulletproof leather jackets. And at $1,000 or less apiece, they’re a hit.

These are not your standard, clunky, uncomfortable and none-too-subtle bulletproof vests. These are stylish, attractive leather jackets and coats that emphasize discretion and fashion right up there with safety. A first, the designers, both 26, claim.

“The armor itself is basically the same as you can get in the States, but in the States all you can get is a bulletproof vest or a vest that is cut down and sewn into a cheap jacket,” Murphy said. “The problem is it is not discreet. You can notice where the armor ends when a person wears it.

“What we offer is discretion, comfort and security.”

Orders have started coming in from Colombian emerald merchants, politicians, prominent businessmen and hotel officials who want their doormen to use them. A certain Central American president now owns one, the merchants say. Two candidates in Colombia’s upcoming elections have them. And, Caballero and Murphy reveal, Harrod’s of London is interested in a batch.

Contacts have also been made with a potential distributor in the United States.

Colombia is known for its fine leather products. And it is also known for its violence. The murder rate is about eight times that of the United States. In Bogota, the capital, people meet violent death at the rate of one an hour, every day, according to government figures.

Leading politicians, judges and government ministers have been assassinated in Colombia’s relentless spiral of violence, either by narcotics traffickers, leftist guerrillas, rightist paramilitary death squads or common thugs. On a national average, three and a half kidnapings a day were reported last year.

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So there should be no surprise that the private security industry is booming. An estimated 75,000 to 90,000 people are employed as bodyguards or in some other security-related job--at least half of them armed--and about 4,000 cars in Colombia have reportedly been bulletproofed, a figure security officials say is the highest in the world.

Most public buildings and many private ones have armed guards; cars arriving at shopping malls are frequently searched for bombs; guests at hotels routinely have their bags searched each time they enter the lobby.

Caballero said he and Murphy developed the idea two years ago, as they were nearing graduation. They import commercial brands of polyethylene armor padding from the United States and then sew it into sheets. The sheets are then inserted into the linings of their own handmade leather jackets and full-length coats.

Following tests, they added a layer of thin foam rubber to cushion the blow of armor against the body. The jackets are soft to the touch outside, hard as steel inside.

To complement the ensemble, Caballero and Murphy also offer a line of bulletproof briefcases, which can be used to shield one’s head when guns start blazing.

The jackets are designed to meet the bulletproofing standards of the U.S. National Institute of Justice. The sturdiest weighs about nine pounds and can withstand close-range fire from a 9-millimeter automatic and a .44 Magnum, the designers say. It costs $999.

For the more modest price of $750, you can buy a 4.8-pound jacket that will stop calibers .22, .25, .32 and .380.

Most of the jackets are made in brown or black leather or suede, but some samples in purple leather have been sold to women.

Sales are still limited, in part because Caballero and Murphy say they are careful about their customers. Lest their products fall into the hands of criminals and gangsters, they try to check the background of their potential buyers by verifying identification papers and the authenticity of the buyer’s gun permit, which almost every security-minded Colombian has.

“We are more interested in selling to people of good faith,” Caballero said. “Our principal policy is not to contribute to more violence. Quite the contrary. We’d like to contribute to peace.”

They admit, however, that it is impossible to control altogether who buys their jackets.

“A Pablo Escobar is not going to walk in here,” said Murphy, referring to the late leader of the notorious Medellin drug cartel. “He would send a front man.”

“We feel we are taking advantage of the experiences this country has suffered in order to make something positive of it, something that benefits the people,” Caballero adds. “That’s very different from exploiting violence.”

The business so far remains low-key. They started with money from their families, and production is still a slow process because of the time it takes to import the armor. With a staff of five, plus seven factory workers, they work out of a nondescript storefront in Bogota’s equivalent of a garment district. Inside their somewhat disheveled office, spent cartridge shells cover the coffee table, and a bulletproof vest hangs on a statue of Don Quixote.

Most of their publicity is through word-of-mouth, telephone book advertising and some news coverage.

One customer, Mario Giraldo, told a local television program that he and his girlfriend were satisfied customers.

“The jackets give us a psychological, as well as physical, protection,” he said.

Caballero and Murphy say they have complete confidence in their product. To drive home the point, they have conducted demonstrations where they take turns firing guns at each other while modeling a jacket.

When trying to make a particular sale, they will often use the client’s own gun, just to prove that there is nothing fishy in what they are offering.

“Our demonstrations are more than convincing,” Caballero said.