The History of the Trench Coat: From WWI to Wardrobe Icon

The History of the Trench Coat

There are garments that follow fashion and garments that transcend it. The trench coat is the clearest example of the second category that British fashion has ever produced. It began as a piece of military engineering, became a cinematic icon, survived multiple cycles of reinvention and appropriation, and arrived in 2026 as relevant as it has ever been — worn by women who would not describe themselves as particularly interested in fashion history, which is precisely the measure of a genuine classic.

This is the complete history. Where it came from, what it means, and — because this is a guide rather than a lecture — how to buy one that earns its price point and its place in your wardrobe for the next decade.

Part One: The Invention — Basingstoke, 1856

Thomas Burberry opened a small outfitter’s shop in Basingstoke, Hampshire in 1856, aged just 21. The town had a population of approximately 4,500 people. There was nothing in the circumstances of the opening to suggest that what began there would eventually become one of the most recognisable garments in the history of fashion.

Burberry’s early designs were inspired by everyday clothing worn by commoners — particularly the waterproof smocks of Hampshire shepherds, who had discovered that lanolin-coated wool repelled water effectively. This observation led to the innovation that changed everything.

In 1879, Burberry made the revolutionary discovery of gabardine: a tough, tightly-woven, water-resistant fabric made from Egyptian cotton through an innovative process, which attracted positive reviews at the International Health Exhibition in South Kensington and was patented in 1888. The key distinction from existing waterproof fabrics was that gabardine coated individual yarn strands before weaving rather than coating the finished fabric — the result was a material that breathed rather than suffocated the wearer, that moved rather than stiffened, and that repelled water without the weight and rigidity that made existing options impractical for active use.

Burberry’s gabardine was not just used by elites, but by explorers. In 1893, Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen became the first explorer to use gabardine on his trip to the Arctic Circle. British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton wore Burberry gabardine for three expeditions in the early 20th century, including the famous Endurance Expedition. In 1911, the company became the outfitters for Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole.

The material was not yet a trench coat. But it was the material from which the trench coat would eventually be made, and the proof of its credentials was being accumulated at the coldest and most hostile places on earth.

→ For the investment dressing framework behind every purchase: Investment Dressing: The Complete Guide to a Wardrobe That Pays You Back

Part Two: The War — 1914 to 1918

Thomas Burberry patented the Tielocken coat — considered the forerunner to the Burberry trench coat — before the First World War. The coat closed with a strap and buckle fastening and featured a single button at the collar. It was designed for military officers who needed weatherproof outerwear that did not compromise their movement or their ability to use equipment in the field.

When war came, the British War Office had an immediate practical problem: the coats worn by officers in the trenches were too heavy, too restrictive, and too impractical for the conditions of modern warfare. Burberry provides apparel and equipment to the Armed Forces during the First World War. Designed for the military, each detail of the Burberry trench coat serves a purpose: the epaulettes displayed insignia but could also display items such as gloves; the gun flap gave additional protection; the D-rings were used to attach military equipment; the storm shield allowed rain to run off more efficiently.

The coat was double-breasted with wide lapels, a storm flap, and pockets that buttoned closed. The belt at the waist came with D-rings for attaching map cases and other equipment. At the back, a small cape crossed the shoulders to encourage water to run off; at the front, a gun or storm flap at the shoulder allowed for ventilation.

Every element of the design that we now consider aesthetically interesting was originally functionally necessary. The D-rings that fashion designers treat as decorative hardware were for hanging binoculars and map cases. The storm flap that gives the trench coat its distinctive front was for keeping rain off a soldier’s gun hand. The raglan sleeves — which allow the coat to be worn over uniform without bunching — prevented water running down the forearm when an officer raised binoculars in rain.

The coat was supplied to troops with a detachable inner warmer, the “British Trench Warm,” which combined the snugness of the famous “British Warm” coat with the weatherproof capabilities of Burberry’s gabardine. It could be worn in three ways — the outer gabardine shell by itself, the liner alone, or both combined.

The trench coat was worn by officers only — it was obtained by private purchase, a distinction that meant it arrived in civilian life already carrying the social weight of an officer class association. When soldiers returned from the war and civilians began wearing what they had seen officers in, they were inheriting not just a garment but a set of associations: competence, authority, weathered purpose.

Part Three: From the Battlefield to the Screen

The transition from military coat to fashion item happened with unusual speed. Because they were readily available for purchase in Burberry’s expanding retail network, men and then eventually women began wearing the coat back home. The coat that had been designed for the specific conditions of trench warfare turned out to work equally well for the conditions of British civilian life — which is to say, unpredictable weather, significant walking, and a cultural preference for clothing that looked purposeful rather than decorative.

The 1920s saw the introduction of the Burberry Check, which became synonymous with the brand and was registered as a trademark. The Burberry Check, now registered as a trademark, was introduced as a lining to rainwear. The check was not intended as an exterior statement — it was the inside of a functional coat, visible only when the collar was turned up or the coat was opened. The restraint of that gesture, the luxury kept interior rather than displayed, is very British in its logic. Then came Hollywood.

Immortalised by Humphrey Bogart on the tarmac in 1942’s Casablanca — the trench was fast becoming a part of fashion history. More iconic still is Audrey Hepburn’s climactic search for Cat wearing a Burberry trench in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, very much as Thomas Burberry intended: rain-soaked in a downpour. The scene cemented the design for generations to come as a classic.

The Casablanca trench and the Breakfast at Tiffany’s trench are doing different things. Bogart’s is about authority in uncertainty — the coat of a man who has seen things and decided how he feels about them. Hepburn’s is about vulnerability made elegant — the coat of a woman standing in the rain looking for a cat, somehow making it the most stylish thing anyone has ever done. Both versions remain in continuous cultural circulation. Both remain relevant to how people choose to wear a trench coat today.

By the 1980s, the trench had become an almost ubiquitous silhouette, associated with the decade’s glamour, epitomised by the swashbuckling, oversized version worn by Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in 1987’s Wall Street. The coat had completed its journey from functional military outerwear to cultural shorthand — a garment that communicated something about the person wearing it before they had said a word.

Part Four: The Making of a Burberry Trench

The trench coat’s cultural history is well documented. Less often discussed is what actually goes into making one — which is the detail that matters most for anyone considering it as an investment purchase.

The gabardine used to make Burberry Heritage Trench and Car Coats is woven at the Burberry mill in Keighley, as is the iconic Burberry Check cotton that has lined the coats since the 1920s.

It can take up to a year to learn the stitching of the trench coat’s collar — the most intricate part of its construction. The collar is made up of eight parts and requires up to 270 stitches to create a fluid curve that allows the collar to sit perfectly on the neck.

Two hundred and seventy stitches in a collar. One year to learn how to do it correctly. This is the detail that explains why a Burberry Heritage Trench costs what it costs — and why the cost per wear calculation, applied honestly across twenty or thirty years of ownership, comes out in its favour.

Today, Burberry’s Heritage collection trenches are still made in the United Kingdom — in Castleford, Yorkshire, where the brand acquired a factory in 1972. In a fashion landscape where heritage claims are routinely made and rarely substantiated, this is the one that holds.

Part Five: The Cultural Life Beyond Burberry

The trench coat’s history is not exclusively a Burberry story, though Burberry’s version of it is the most complete and the most authoritative. Aquascutum also takes credit for early iterations of the waterproofed coat, having sold overcoats and hunting gear to aristocratic gentlemen and outfitting British officers as far back as the Crimean War in 1853.

The broader truth is that the trench coat became a cultural object rather than a branded one — a garment that any designer could interpret and that any woman could make her own. The Burberry version is the origin point and the benchmark. Every other interpretation is in dialogue with it.

What persisted across every decade and every iteration is the coat’s fundamental design intelligence. The proportions — the belted waist, the length that falls at or below the knee, the wide lapel, the raglan shoulder — are not arbitrary. They were engineered for utility and they happen to be, as genuinely functional designs often are, beautiful. A trench coat that gets the proportions right looks correct regardless of when it was made or who made it. A trench coat that gets the proportions wrong looks like a costume.

Part Six: How to Buy One Now

The investment case for a trench coat is among the strongest in fashion. No other coat has a longer continuous history of cultural relevance. No other garment transitions as cleanly across seasons — spring and autumn primarily, but also over knitwear in winter and over a shirt in early autumn. No other single purchase extends the range of a wardrobe as broadly. The question is not whether to buy one. The question is which one.

The Burberry Kensington Heritage Trench — The Benchmark

The original and the coat against which everything else is measured. Made in Castleford, Yorkshire, in British-woven gabardine, with the hand-stitched collar and the Burberry Check lining that has been in continuous production since the 1920s. The Kensington Heritage Trench is available in the classic honey, black, and a range of seasonal colours. Honey is the investment purchase — it is the colour most associated with the coat’s cultural history and the one with the longest continuously wearable life. The price point is significant. The cost per wear, across twenty years of consistent use, is not.

The Toteme Trench — The Contemporary Investment

Toteme’s single-breasted trench is the version the investment dresser buys when she wants the coat’s classic language interpreted through a contemporary Swedish lens — cleaner hardware, a more relaxed shoulder, the same considered fabrication applied to a silhouette that sits slightly differently on the body.

The & Other Stories Trench — The Investment Entry Point

The most consistently well-made trench at the accessible end of the investment spectrum. The proportions are considered — this is not a high street approximation of a trench coat but a genuinely resolved version of the shape at a significantly lower price point. In beige for maximum longevity.

The Styling Rules

Three principles apply to wearing a trench coat correctly — by which I mean wearing it as the functional, considered garment it was designed to be rather than as a prop.

Wear it properly or wear it open. A trench coat belted correctly — the belt threaded through the loops and tied rather than buckled, slightly loose at the front — is the most elegant version of the coat. A trench coat hanging open over everything is the second most elegant version. A trench coat half-heartedly tied with the belt trailing is neither.

The collar is the detail. The Burberry collar takes 270 stitches and a year to learn to make for a reason. Turning it up changes the entire character of the coat — it becomes something protective rather than decorative, which is closer to what it was designed to be. In wind and rain especially, turn the collar up. This is not a fashion affectation. This is using the coat as intended.

The length matters more than the colour. The investment trench falls at or below the knee. A trench that sits above the knee is a different garment — shorter, more directional, less versatile. The below-knee length is the one with the longest style cycle because it is the proportion that the coat’s design was built around. Buy the length that your height can carry convincingly and that your life will actually accommodate.

 → For the more on the History of Burberry: The History of Burberry: From Heritage Raincoats to a Global Luxury Powerhouse

Frequently Asked Questions

Who invented the trench coat? Thomas Burberry is most commonly credited with creating the trench coat as we know it today. He invented gabardine fabric in 1879 and developed the Tielocken coat — the direct predecessor to the trench — before the First World War. The British War Office commissioned Burberry to adapt the design for military officers in WWI, and the resulting coat — with its epaulettes, D-rings, storm flap, and raglan sleeves — established the template that has remained essentially unchanged for over a century. Aquascutum also claims a role in the trench coat’s early history, having produced waterproofed military coats as far back as the Crimean War.

Why is it called a trench coat? The coat was named after the trenches of the First World War, where it was worn by British Army officers. Each of its design details was functional: the storm flap protected against rain, the D-rings attached equipment, the epaulettes displayed insignia, and the raglan sleeves allowed movement over uniform without bunching. The name stuck as the coat moved into civilian life after the war, carrying its military associations with it.

Where are Burberry trench coats made? Burberry’s Heritage Trench Coats are still made in the United Kingdom. The gabardine fabric is woven at the Burberry mill in Keighley, West Yorkshire, and the coats are manufactured in Castleford, also in Yorkshire — where Burberry has produced trench coats since acquiring the factory in 1972.

How long does a Burberry trench coat last? A properly maintained Burberry Heritage Trench Coat will last for decades. The construction is designed for longevity — the hand-stitched collar alone takes up to a year to learn to make correctly. With proper storage, professional cleaning, and the occasional reproofing of the gabardine, a Burberry Heritage Trench is a generational purchase. Many are passed between family members. The investment case is among the strongest in fashion.

What is the best colour for a trench coat? Honey — the warm camel-beige that has been the coat’s signature colour since it was designed for military use — is the most versatile and the most investment-worthy. It works across every season, complements the widest range of outfit colours, and carries the coat’s cultural history most authentically. Black is the second most versatile and the one that extends most cleanly into evening dressing. Any other colour is a secondary purchase.

Is a trench coat worth the investment in 2026? Yes — unambiguously. The trench coat has a longer continuous history of cultural relevance than any other outerwear garment, it transitions across more seasons and occasions than any comparable coat, and the cost per wear calculation over twenty or more years of ownership is among the most favourable in fashion. The question is not whether to invest in a trench coat but which version to buy at which price point. The Burberry Heritage Trench is the benchmark and & Other Stories offer the coat’s design intelligence at more accessible investment levels.

Natalie Dixon

Natalie Dixon is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Chic Style Collective — a platform she built after years of searching for a fashion site that felt genuinely luxurious but was actually affordable. A graduate of the Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design, she brings over 20 years in fashion and lifestyle journalism.

A decade of professional hairstyling experience, and makeup artistry training from the Academy of Freelance Makeup in London. She has reported from London Fashion Week and contributed to The Scotsman and National World.

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