Camel chameleons: why it's time to revive this wardrobe classic
If you want a lesson in what’s cool, and what is resoundingly 'Not Cool', spend time with a Parisian fashion tastemaker.
In the exquisitely sparse atelier of Dior Homme’s creative director Kris Van Assche in Paris’ first arrondissement last week (it’s a tough life, I grant you), the designer was critiquing what seemed at first to be a standard issue camel coat swinging on the rails.
“The camel coat is really the most bourgeois item in a man’s wardrobe”, said Assche. “Which is why we wanted to change it, give it a bit more life, make it relevant”.
The designer, showing his autumn/winter 2018/19 collection over the weekend, did just that - knife-edge sharp with white darts on the waist and shoulders to highlight its preciseness.
The humble, and very British item, certainly has noble beginnings; British label Jaeger lays claim to have invented the first “true” camel coat by weaving a garment out of camel hair in the year that followed WW1, going on to create outerwear for the military when war struck again; with wool in short supply, it was a durable alternative.
It’s interesting that Van Assche uses the term “bourgeois”. In Britain it’s synonymous with Arthur Daley, that wheeler-dealer car salesman, the attire of captains of industry, city boys and clerks alike and all too often gets a bad rep; it was the kind of coat your dad would advise you to invest in once you got your first proper job.
In Daley’s case, it was baggy and sack-like, bulked out all the more by wearing a suit underneath. But, as designers like Van Assche proves, the much maligned camel is due a second act.
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Today, the term “camel” more often than not refers to the colour rather than the actual material, but the form remains the same; single-breasted with either a notch or peak lapel, occasionally in a contrasting shade.
And what contemporary styling (particularly on the street style stars that parade outside fashion shows) demonstrates is that this item has traction way beyond the confines of business attire.
A crisp white T-shirt and jeans looks great with a camel coat; it elevates the casual stance. Ditto it looks pin sharp with a polo neck or ever a racer top; compliment the nuanced colour with a knit in a colour such as berry or saffron. A lot more Dior than Daley.
