From models to royalty, everyone wants a Barbour (even if they reek of wet Labrador!)
By Alice Hare For The Daily Mail[1]
Published: 20:46, 7 January 2024 | Updated: 00:23, 8 January 2024
There’s a distinctive scent that emanates from a well-loved Barbour Beaufort jacket — one of roaring fires, moss and country lanes, with a subtle undertone of wet Labrador.
Around Britain, a battered, wind and water-proof Barbour is what many country dwellers reach for as they face the New Year elements.
But having celebrated its 40th anniversary — it debuted in 1983 — the classic Beaufort wax jacket will not only be buttoned and zipped over the country set this year, but the rather pickier fashion elite, too.
That’s because Barbour’s latest collection, unveiled late last year, features a collaboration with luxury Italian label Gucci.
Here, cut from the leftovers of the emblematic red velvet designer Tom Ford made synonymous with Gucci in the 1990s, is a Beaufort unlike any you’ve seen before — yours for GBP2,280.
The Princess of Wales has worn four Barbour jackets in recent years, including one last November from Alexa Chung’s collection with the brand
In 1977, the brand’s chairman, Dame Margaret Barbour, asked the Queen if she would like a new Beaufort to celebrate her Silver Jubilee.
Her Majesty declined, asking if she could have her old jacket re-waxed instead
Olivia Palermo wears her dark green Barbour jacket open, belting it at the waist to create a more feminine look
Alongside the iconic Gucci colour are the signature features of a Beaufort: four pockets, a turn-up corduroy collar and that instantly recognisable tartan lining.
The focus of the collaboration is upcycling. The entire collection is made of either the surplus deadstock fabrics of yesteryear or re-waxed Barbours of old.
But why is Barbour still going strong when other heritage brands, such as Hunter, have gone under?
2023 was a record-breaking year for Barbour. Last week, the brand reported an increase of 20 per cent in sales in the year to April 2023, totalling GBP343 million.
My guess is it’s because Barbour clothing appeals to an audience far more varied than just the country set.
Take the Beaufort itself.
Launched the year after the Sloane Ranger Handbook was published, it swiftly became de rigueur for any self-respecting Sloane, male or female, whose spiritual home was not truly rural but the white stuccoed streets around Sloane Square in London’s Chelsea.
Princess Diana had one, of course. The Handbook even has a drawing of a stereotypical Sloane annotated with an arrow pointing to his jacket and the caption: ‘Barbour — crumpled, oily and sweaty. Big pockets for big hands, used cartridges and Labby’s lead.’
Perhaps we should have predicted the Barbour-Gucci union, as another drawing shows a typical Sloane wearing: ‘Shoes — Gucci, black, snaffled.’
It was with the Beaufort that the Barbour brand went stratospheric.
Lily Allen threw her Barbour jacket over a bright pink dress when she performed on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in 2007
Style icon and fashion designer Alexa Chung paired her Barbour jacket with wellies and a pair of PVC pants at Glastonbury in 2016
Based in South Shields, where every wax jacket is still made, Barbour began making fishing outfits in the 1890s, then moved into motorcycling gear in the 1930s and suits for submariners during the war.
By the time the Beaufort was launched the brand had perfected its waxing technique, which makes its fabric so durable.
The classic Beaufort, which retails for around GBP200, features a studded collar, allowing for the attachment of a hood, the option of a zip-in fleece lining and a detachable storm throat flap — talk about bang for your buck.
And that’s before we even come to those pockets.
Unique to the Beaufort, the full-width back pocket is the perfect size for both city and country. Probably designed for a freshly-shot grouse, but also just right for a two-pint bottle of milk picked up on the way home.
The two front pockets are capacious. I plunge my hand into those on the Beaufort hanging on the back of my chair as I type, and find some crushed dog treats; several dog poo bags; a tube of Fruit Pastilles; a pot of Vaseline; a pair of clip-on earrings; a phone charger; two lipsticks and a paperback.
Mary Poppins’ carpet bag has nothing on a Barbour Beaufort pocket.
Practicality and affordable quality are as useful to the city hipster as they are to the Lincolnshire land agent, and that’s why Barbour has endured.
Add the continued quality of Barbour products — down to the fact that the brand is still family-owned and has been for five generations — and you have a recipe for longevity like no other.
For all the technology available to 007, it was a Barbour jacket James Bond wore to defend his ancestral home in Scotland in 2012’s Skyfall.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cuts a sharp figure in his Barbour paired with suit trousers and brown suede shoes
Compare it to Hunter, a brand which once looked as durably British as Barbour — its Wellington boots worn by everyone stylish, from Princess Diana (again) to the humble stable girl to the latest ‘It girl’ at Glastonbury. Yet when the company moved production from Scotland to China in 2008, it seemed to misfire.
By growing its range of colours and styles to try to attract global buyers, it lost the Britishness they wanted in the first place.
Despite hiring Stella McCartney’s husband Alasdhair Willis as creative director from 2013 to 2020, Hunter could not compete with brands expanding into upmarket rubber boots, including Prada and Balenciaga, and went into administration with debts of more than GBP100 million last summer.
Adapting and widening its market more deftly has ensured Barbour’s survival. Chameleon-like, it has found a niche in every fashion trend the past few decades have thrown at us, all while maintaining its core values.
Lily Allen, Alexa Chung and Sienna Miller made a Barbour jacket the shortcut to the indie aesthetic they spearheaded on the festival circuit in the early noughties.
Lily James makes hers look effortlessly cool.
Rishi Sunak gave one to President Joe Biden on his official visit to the US last summer.
The then-Prince Charles looked every inch the country gentleman in his Barbour jacket an flat cap at a cross country hunt event in April 1978
The Princess of Wales has worn four Barbour jackets in recent years, including one last November from Chung’s collection with the brand.
And clever collaborations have worked well for Barbour. There have been many, and each picked with a different market in mind. This season marks its fifth venture with House of Hackney, for example; the second with London high-fashion label Roksanda and a second with the brand that’s a byword for Scandi cool, Ganni.
Last spring also saw a collaboration with that giant of French fashion, Chloe, which again represented a new market — younger, and more eco-conscious.
In 1977, the brand’s chairman, Dame Margaret Barbour, asked the Queen if she would like a new Beaufort to celebrate her Silver Jubilee.
Her Majesty declined, asking if she could have her old jacket re-waxed instead.
It seems that durability has a perennial appeal — especially during these straitened times.
References
- ^ Alice Hare For The Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)