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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.
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Paddington Bear to hit the big screen
Paddington Bear is easily one of the most famous duffle coat wearers of them all. The bear with the blue duffle, floppy hat and briefcase (holding all those must-have marmalade sandwiches, of course) is an iconic image that’s loved by children across the globe and through the generations, and now he’s about to get a big screen makeover.
He first appeared in the 1958 book A Bear Called Paddington and since then some 11 titles and several much-loved TV shows have followed suit, all bringing with them the same charm that we know and love. Michael Bond’s books have sold more than 35 million copies the world over so it’s about time the lovable bear took to a step up to the big screen, and with David Heyman, the producer of all 8 Harry Potter films, being behind the upcoming film we can’t wait to see what it’s going to be like—it’s set to incorporate a combination of live action footage and computer-generated images to bring Paddington to life, bringing a modern take to the traditional stories.
There’s no word yet on when it’s going to be released but there are some tentative suggestions of who could be cast as the voice of the leading man, with Sir Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry all being in the frame. David Heyman has spoken of his affection for the bear, saying “Paddington Bear is a universally loved character, treasured for his optimism, his sense of fair play, and his perfect manners—and of course for his unintentional talent for comic chaos.” We couldn’t agree more. We grew up with those stories and now we’ll get the chance to see Paddington in a whole new way, and of course, we can’t wait to see what his duffle coat looks like…
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The Umbrella, An Essential Rainy Day Accessory
When the heavens open and the rain starts to pour, the first thing you’ll be reaching for is your umbrella. With a good waterproof coat and a trusty brolly, even the heaviest rainstorm is no match. While we’re all used to pocket sized umbrellas, giant golf parasols or your standard cheap one which turns inside out at the slightest breeze, umbrellas have a surprisingly varied history.
Umbrellas were first invented over four thousand years ago – but as parasol to protect you from the sun, rather than the rain. There’s evidence of them in Egypt, Assyria, Greece and China – and it was the Chinese who first tried to waterproof their brollies. They used a process of waxing and lacquering to repel water from the fabric, letting them stay dry even when it was raining cats and dogs.
They weren’t known as ‘umbrellas’, however. This was a western word originating in the 16th century. Unsurprisingly, umbrellas first took off in the rainy northern parts of Europe. After all, if you’re sunbathing in the Med then rain protection is likely the last thing on your mind. They were originally only seen as suitable for ladies – sorry guys, you’d have still been getting soaked. It was only due to the efforts of Persian travel writer Jonas Hanway that umbrella use amongst men became popular in the 18th century. English gentlemen even referred to their brollies as ‘Hanways’.
The first all umbrella shop opened in London in 1830 on New Oxford Street – it’s still there and going strong. Early umbrellas were made of wood or whalebone and covered with oiled canvas. Many were works of art, using top grade hard wood with intricate carvings. Steel ribbed designs and collapsible brollies came along in the next century or two – leading to now, where on a drizzly day there will be a rainbow of umbrellas on the streets. So, next time you unfurl your umbrella, just remember it wasn’t always that easy to stay dry on a stormy day!
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Bogart strings up Burberry
Legendary actor Humphrey Bogart and his estate, filed a law suit against Burberry last week. Burberry are in hot water for using Bogart’s publicity rights for an international campaign. Burberry insist that their campaign didn’t breach Bogart’s rights, and the image they used was licensed from a photography agency and in the domain for public use.
Burberry have used the picture of Bogart wearing one of their rather fashionable trench coats, which is similar to what Bogart was wearing in the last scene of Casablanca. This has been spread across social media sites and has been added cleverly into the Timeline section of Burberry’s pages on Facebook, to show that it has influenced fashion, culture and people over decades. Bogart’s estate is claiming that it never gave the fashion house permission to use that particular image in their campaign. Burberry have retorted that it is purely for editorial use and not to help sales.
“Just as Burberry needed to obtain Emma Watson’s consent before using her name and image to promote Burberry’s brand and products, it needed to obtain permission from the Bogart Estate to use Humphrey Bogart’s name and image in its social media marketing campaign,” said publicity rights attorney Michael O. Crain, who represents Bogart LLC. “Burberry’s business hinges on respect for its own intellectual property rights, so it is quite surprising to see that it apparently has so little respect for the clear rights of others.”
Burberry will stand by its guns in the fact that this particular image was licensed and was not used for commercial gain, where as the Bogart estate want justice. Burberry has used hundreds of famous faces in its campaigns and also use people such as Robert Mitchum on their Facebook Timeline.All of this because of a trench coat!
Duffle Coats.
