Humphrey Bogart wearing Aquascutum in Casablanca
The trench coat. No other item of outerwear embodies heritage British style as much as our treasured trench coat. Loved from London to Los Angeles, Tyneside to Tokyo, the trench coat’s origin is distinctly militaristic in nature. Philip Walsh explores the history of the trench coat.
A WAR OF THE TRENCHES
The history of the iconic trench coat begins at different times, depending on whether you choose Aquascutum or Burberry.
If you choose Aquascutum, then the history goes back to 1853, when the company produced practical coats for officers fighting in the Crimean war (One Major and his Sergeant owed their lives to grey Aquascutum coats. Indistinguishable from their Russian foe they marched with the enemy until they could escape and rejoin their own lines!) , using its patented waterproof wool.
If you choose Burberry, then it goes back to 1901, when Thomas Burberry entered a design to the War Office for an officer’s raincoat made using his very own patented cotton Gabardine fabric, a tightly woven, water repellent fabric weave.
Both of these coats were so popular with the officers of the British forces, that they became an optional item of uniform that they could purchase for themselves.
But to be pedantic, the influence that the Scottish scientist Charles Mackintosh and his rubberised fabric, patented in 1823, had on the coat’s evolution cannot be overlooked. If it wasn’t for Mackintosh and his industry changing invention of waterproof fabrics, Aquascutum and Burberry would not have been forced to invent their own versions. Indeed, so important are Mackintosh’s coats to the history of this subject, that today in Britain, trench coats are often (incorrectly) referred to as ‘macs’ short for ‘Mackintosh’, and a shorthand phrase in general for waterproof outerwear.
However the story of the modern trench coat, really begins during the First World War. The “Great War” as it became known, fought on the muddy fields of mainland Europe.
Officers fighting during the Great War took their Aquascutum & Burberry raincoats with them and as the war progressed, the design was modified for field use. The modifications included epaulettes to display rank insignia and D-rings for the carrying of map cases and swords (not hand grenades as the popular myth would have it!). As the officers fought ‘trench warfare’, these coats in turn, became known as ‘trench coats’.
As the officers were demobilised at the end of the war, they returned to civilian life with their trusty trench coats and they quickly became fashionable amongst men and women.
FILM NOIR & THE HOLLYWOOD ERA
An image of the trench coat from Hollywood's Golden Age
Eventually the world entered another period of global warfare, at this point the trench coat, like many stylish garments, was again used on the battlefield during the frequent bouts of inclement weather so typical of mainland Europe. This was also the period in which the trench coat made its film debut, being worn by both Ralph Byrd in 1937 as the detective Dick Tracy and by Humphrey Bogart in 1942 as Rick Blaine in the seminal film Casablanca. The coat would also become an integral part of the ‘cast’ of any Hollywood Film Noir tale featuring a sultry ‘femme fatale’ or world weary detective.
As the war ended though and officers were once again demobilised to civilian life, their coats became a symbol of authority, lending their wearers an air of respectability, earned through their time on the battlefield. The trench coat’s unerring practicality complimented by its generation spanning appeal meant it once again became a style staple for everyday civilians.
The trench coat in Film Noir classic 'Out of the Past' (1947)
THE TRENCH COAT TODAY
Each generation, from the Mods of the 1960s, to the yuppies of the 1980s and the heritage seekers of the 2000s has idolised it, probably not realising that their grandfathers and maybe even great grandfathers, fought in them.
The trench coat, however, did not fare well during the “dress down 90s” – a natural reaction to the hyper-stylised yuppie culture of the 80s. It took Burberry’ s hiring of the photographer Mario Testino and the designer Christopher Bailey at the turn of the century and their forward thinking to turn this around.
HRH Prince Charles and the late Diana Princess of Wales in Burberry (1983)
… STILL ‘MADE IN ENGLAND’
The modern trench coat’s fabric composition varies wildly from the oil impregnated cloth and rubber backed wool of the 19th & early 20th centuries. Today’s trench can be made of the traditional heavy cotton gabardine or a more modern poly/cotton shower proof mix, the technical fabric mix perfected by Aquascutum in the 1940s. The poly/cotton blends allow for a lighter, more versatile trench coat, suitable for summer wear and today’s air-conditioned environments and in some ways because of this perhaps, would not be recognisable as a ‘trench coat’ in the eyes of our great-grandfathers. Hearteningly, both Aquascutum and Burberry continue to manufacture in Britain, so that those looking for the ‘real thing’ will always be able to buy a piece of this important part of our sartorial history.
Today, Aquascutum is still 'Made in England' and continues to invest in its Corby, Northampton factory
The trench coat today remains a pillar of men’s style, they are still loved by a broad cross section of society, from the modern businessmen clutching copies of the Financial Times, to whoever the supermodel of the moment is, clutching the latest ‘It bag’. Since its inception the trench coat has remained an iconic piece of outerwear, borne of necessity, its distinct style still captures the hearts of aficionados the world over.
FACTS ABOUT AQUASCUTUM
- Aquascutum has made in England since the company was established in 1851
- ‘Aquascutum’ – from the Latin ‘Aqua’ (water) and ‘Scutum’ (shield)
- It takes six hours to make each trench coat
- There are 50 components in a trench coat
- Each coat passes through 70 pairs of craftsmen’s hands
- The belt of a trench coat takes just as long to make as a pair of trousers
AQUASCUTUM: NOTABLE WEARERS
- H.M. Queen Elizabeth II
- Cary Grant
- Humphrey Bogart
FACTS ABOUT BURBERRY
- Burberry was first granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment by King George V in 1919
- Today the company is one of Britain’s, and the world’s most successful luxury goods brands
BURBERRY: NOTABLE WEARERS
- H.M. KING GEORGE V
- H.R.H. Prince Charles
- Princess Diana of Wales
A 21st Century Burberry (From a 2008 Burberry Prorsum campaign)
