Rural workwear arrives in the capital with mud, pockets and an inconvenient lack of sponsorship deals
By Roper Penberthy
London fashion has spent decades attempting to make ordinary clothing look extraordinary. It has put holes in jeans, raised the price of cotton shirts and persuaded perfectly healthy adults that wearing a coat without sleeves is an expression of personal identity. Meanwhile, British farmers have quietly continued wearing practical clothes that actually do something.
The latest inspiration for country-influenced fashion is coming from the agricultural world. Work jackets, sturdy boots, weatherproof coats and generously pocketed trousers are beginning to look rather attractive to designers who have apparently just discovered that clothes can be useful.
There is an obvious business opportunity here. Small Farm Info represents the sort of agricultural knowledge that fashion brands might consult before announcing that muddy boots are a revolutionary new lifestyle concept.
Even Farm Safety could teach the fashion industry something. A jacket that protects its wearer from actual weather is perhaps a more meaningful innovation than another luxury garment requiring its own insurance policy.
London boutiques could learn from rural clothing traditions. Farmers understand durability, changing conditions and the importance of having somewhere to put a phone, a notebook and possibly a sandwich. Fashion executives understand seasonal collections and how to charge considerably more for fewer pockets.
I suspect the next major London fashion trend will be called Heritage Agricultural Utility. The farmer will call it Tuesday.