The duffle coat on the big screen
Earlier this week we brought you news of Paddington Bear hitting the big screen, and as he’s the most famous duffle coat wearer around we thought we’d take the opportunity to see other occasions that the iconic duffle coat has had a cinematic moment.
The first time the duffle appeared in full big screen glory was in the 1953 film The Cruel Sea. Jack Hawkins’ character wears a traditional naval duffle coat throughout the film, and not only was it the first big screen moment for the duffle but it was also the moment when duffle coats started to appeal to the masses. Their popularity soared and manufacturing soon took off, bringing the durable duffle to a whole new audience.
In Don’t Look Now a scarlet red duffle coat makes an appearance, being a key moment in the Daphne Du Maurier adaptation and one that stands out in the memories of fans. More recently we’ve had Submarine, with the film revolving around a 15-year-old duffle coat-wearing Welsh boy, the success of which sent fans into a duffle coat buying frenzy to recreate the look. Paddington will of course be coming to screens near you soon (we hope) but there’s one film coming up just next month that has a duffle coat at its heart.
A Fantastic Fear of Everything, the latest Simon Pegg creation, sees lead character Jack wearing the traditional camel coloured duffle. Gloverall actually supplied two coats for the film, one for Jack’s character as a child and one as an adult, putting the classic Monty on the silver screen once again. It’s the star of the show and with it due to hit screens on June 8th there’s not long to wait (the premise sounds good too), so the next time you pull on your duffle for a brisk walk make sure to take a moment to reflect on the movie history of the iconic coat—it’s come a long way.