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Geography teachers, hikers and dads, rejoice – the fickle world of fashion has declared you on-trend in 2024, with the arrival of … the couture fleece.
Yes, that practical clothing which, for a few decades, has resided in relative anonymity in outdoor gear shops, bought only by those looking for a lightweight but warm, washable, top, is having a moment in the style spotlight.
Fleece jackets, jumpers and the dreaded gilet – an item which has given me the shivers ever since a particularly mean boss sported one in the noughties – have been seen at Fashion Week, both on the front row and runway. Oppenheimer actor and style-darling, Florence Pugh, was snapped sporting a $1700 Patou fleece with peep-toe Paris Texas ankle boots, at the recent Paris Couture shows, which, according to Vogue, sent “ricochets through the fashion industry”.
It’s enough to give you chills, if you didn’t have a synthetic sweater to prevent them. Florence wasn’t even warm because she teamed her long fleece jacket with bare legs, so her top half was toasty, while her toes got chilblains in the Parisian winter.
Fleeces – or “borgs” as they have been rebranded by some labels, have been seen everywhere from Burberry to Gucci, Dior to Louis Vuitton, as well as someone walking their dog in a park near you.
You can avail yourself of a $5500 Gucci logo-emblazoned fleece hoodie on Netaporter, or a $12,120 jacket by Brunello Cucinelli, should you wish to be literally fleeced for your durable leisurewear choices. Still, at least they dry quickly, presumably like your tears, after you realise how much you spent on something Kathmandu stocks for $99.
The Return of the Fleece (as opposed to the Mack) is all part of the dadcore trend, which has been rumbling on for a while. It’s championed by Gen Z and subverts classic dad-wear, such as ugly trainers, socks with sandals, three-quarter-length shorts (jorts), footie shirts, flannels, sweatshirts and now fleeces, turning them into ironic-chic, or “meta-cringe”.
It follows on from the gorpcore trend, which is about turning outdoor wear to streetwear, or in other words, looking like a designer-hiker, when the only mountain you’re ever likely to tackle is your credit card bill.
Keeping up so far? I’m not, because of course, the ultimate irony is, fed-up with freezing on the side of my kids’ football pitches, I gave in and bought a fleece. And while it keeps me warm, I had been lamenting my style-descent, thinking it, “a sign of defeat”, as Karl Lagerfeld once described anyone who wore sweatpants.
However, while I – and other oldies – can take comfort in our comfort and tell ourselves we’re on-trend, I suspect anyone who uses fleeces or gorpcore for the pursuits for which they were intended, cancels themselves out immediately, style-wise. That includes dads – I’m not sure you can pull off dadcore, if you are actually a father. Which is not Daddy Cool, but the ultimate dad-joke.
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