The Barbour x Erdem collab has the chicest wax jackets we’ve ever seen

On a dewy June day two years ago, Nicola Brown, head of womenswear for Barbour stepped into designer Erdem Moralioglu’s London studio. It was like a treasure trove, she recalls, with old fabrics, antiques and history books strewn about. Erdem, modern British fashion’s most beloved history buff and romantic, had decided that his upcoming spring/summer 2024 show was to be all about the life of Deborah “Debo” Cavendish, the Mitford girl turned Duchess of Devonshire. His pièce de résistance? A blend of Debo’s favourite Barbour trenches with one of the many 1940s opera coats she swanned about in at Chatsworth House. “He was sharing everything from colour palettes, mood boards, fabrics, prototypes—I completely fell in love, honestly,” says Nicola with a warm chuckle. “Before I knew it, I agreed to collaborate on his show, and then I realised I had to actually go back and tell the business it was happening.”

Barbour, a 130-year-old, family-owned heritage label is best known for its hardy wax jackets but has slowly begun entering the high fashion space thanks to sold-out collaborations with the likes of cult Scandi label Ganni and influential tastemakers like Alexa Chung. Perhaps driven by the rise of gorpcore, or simply fatigue with the hamster-wheel of TikTok fashion trends, consumers sought refuge in sturdy heritage brands like Barbour, who have enjoyed a steep resurgence in popularity in recent years. In unpredictable times and an even more unpredictable climate, people are drawn to something that can help them face the elements.

This collaboration with Erdem, however, marked Barbour’s first-ever showpiece and runway appearance. How would the public react? Turns out, they couldn’t get enough. So much so that Nicola and Erdem has now spent the last six months creating a commercial collection to meet demand.

“I didn’t expect the reaction from the media, and the industry to be as strong as what it was,” says Nicola. “Originally we’d kind of said, ‘Oh, it’s just going to be a showpiece, we won’t take it to production, we can’t possibly.’ But then it was so phenomenal, we decided to go into business.” The collection will need a few tweaks of course. After all, wax jackets in “big, couture volume” as Erdem puts it are not exactly conducive to commuting on the London tube.

So Erdem mined Barbour’s deep archives to study the construction of the brand’s iconic coats, becoming enamoured by pieces like a glossy black shiny vinyl raincoat from the 60s and 70s. The resulting Barbour x Erdem, a couture-meets-countrywear commercial collection, which drops on January 28, features Barbour’s classic, pragmatic silhouettes with Erdem’s feminine twist.