It looks like the coat you grab off the rack to walk the dog, but it is, in fact, the coat those in the know will wear to fashion week
This is a power coat. Yes, really. I know it doesn’t look like it. It isn’t cashmere, it isn’t Savile Row-tailored. It isn’t power navy or stealth-wealth camel. It looks like the coat you grab off the rack to walk the dog, not the coat around which you base your new season look. But it is, in fact, the coat those in the know will wear to fashion week.
At its most basic level, the rise of the padded coat is the inevitable climax of a year when fashion has been outplayed by sportswear and athleisure. Trainers have overtaken heels, tracksuit bottoms have usurped trousers, sweatshirts have eclipsed knits. Where the traditional coat takes its cue from the look of the most powerful person in a boardroom or the most glamorous person in a fancy restaurant, this year’s alpha coat channels the manager running things from the sidelines at a football match.
Related: What I wore this week: the athleisure neckline | Jess Cartner-Morley
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