Suddenly, somehow, all at once, everyone everywhere started wearing barn jackets, duck boots, and outdoor workwear staples. It’s happening on the streets and on the runways—and even more so in the world of fabulously fast and furious fashion collaborations. In recent months, we’ve seen Ganni x Barbour, Proenza Schouler x Sorel, and Tibi x L.L.Bean, each creating a modernized take on all-American staples. Since the trend kicked off for the spring 2024 season, it’s been impossible not to spot these icons of classic workwear, like the barn jacket, with a high-fashion edge, as seen on the runways of Prada, The Row, Miu Miu, Toteme, Burberry, and Loewe. Walk down any New York City street, and you’ll probably see someone wearing one right now with a pair of jeans—if they aren’t wearing something like a pair of utilitarian denim overalls or a Carhartt jacket instead.
It’s undoubtedly a complicated time globally, and maybe the real, down-to-earth aesthetic of something so casual and practical is what’s behind the rise of the barn coat and its other farm-native siblings. The future is uncertain (if not bleak), and wearing something strong, sturdy, and snug conveys instant comfort and ease.
Interestingly, the barn jacket is one casual wardrobe item heavily rooted in conveying class. At first, it began as a workwear staple in 19th-century Europe, before American brands like Carhartt and L.L.Bean created their own versions in the early 20th century. Back then, these were designed for laborers and, therefore, strongly associated with the working class. It wasn’t until the 1980s when royals like Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth subverted the garment with class status. Both wore it to various outings including vacations in the countryside. Then, the jacket was seen as a garment for leisure—an intentional choice of wearing workwear rather than wearing it out of necessity. Queen Elizabeth frequently wore her Barbour Beaufort (first released in 1982) for decades.
“It’s almost as if we want to wear clothes that express a very highly individualized version of ourselves,” says Patricia Mears, deputy director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. “Sometimes you have to step into a role or wear clothes that may not necessarily pertain to what you do every day. Lots of people in New York, I don’t know if they’ve ever even been in a barn, let alone worked in a barn, but they’re going to have the barn coat. It’s the creation of a persona. When people put this on, they are sending you a very clear message.” The barn jacket, duck boot, or other workwear on a person who isn’t doing actual work, when worn in a fashion context or as Princess Diana or Queen Elizabeth once did, goes hand-in-hand with some of the top-gloried fashion aesthetic movements we’ve seen this year like “old money,” for example, or even “clean girl” or “gorpcore.”
There’s no doubt fashion’s latest obsession also has everything to do with nostalgia. April Hennig, Moda Operandi’s chief merchandising and marketing officer, is coveting Brandon Maxwell’s barn jackets right now, partly due to her own upbringing. “I grew up in Woodstock, Vermont, and that is the world of L.L.Bean dressing. I always tend to embrace things that are like a Birkenstock or Ugg moment—or a barn jacket,” she says. “It’s comfortable and practical, but it’s a blend of English countryside, and also just nostalgic ’90s. One of my favorite barn jackets was created by Prada, but now it’s done at such accessible price points, it’s a trend that everyone can embrace.”
Workwear brands expanding into fashion makes sense—if the people want it, why not? Without coincidence, it also happens to be the 100th anniversary of L.L.Bean’s iconic Field Coat. The brands that embraced these styles first do it best, so much so that fashion can’t help but tap into the zeitgeist by way of collaborations. “My husband is actually a farmer,” Mears says. “He said he really feels like he’s seeing the appropriation of these companies pivoting more towards a fashion clientele.”
Ditte Reffstrup, creative director of Ganni, wanted to mix the ease and practicality of Danish style with Barbour’s inherent British aesthetic when she decided to create the Ganni x Barbour partnership. “I think it beautifully balances British and Danish heritage, reflecting an interplay between Barbour’s classic, functional outerwear—think waxed cotton, heritage tartans, and utilitarian silhouettes—and Ganni’s playful, feminine touches like signature Peter Pan collars, bold buckles, and standout leopard print accents,” she says. Adds Mears, “The thing that’s interesting is that you can see a wide range of people wearing this type of garment, but you can tell who the authentic wearers are, the person who’s going to go into the dairy barn to work versus the person who’s going to go to the local coffee house, because they’re on vacation from Brooklyn,” she says.
One thing everyone can agree on, whether on a runway or in a literal barn: We all crave comfort right now, and if a single jacket or boot can deliver it, there’s no reason not to wear it everywhere.
