There aren’t many brands that appeal to a farmer in rural Devon as much as a fashion lover in London. But there aren’t many labels that have survived since 1894, staying true to their founding principles while evolving with the times.
This week, South Shields-based Barbour reported record sales of £343 million. On the one hand, this won’t come as a surprise to those of us who lived in our laundry coats during the wet and windy holidays. But a globally relevant company isn’t just built on a few weatherproof jackets – especially when it prides itself on items that will last for years and encourages owners to have their jacket repaired and re-waxed rather than buying a new one.
Barbour is undeniably a great British success story. For years it evolved conservatively, supplying waterproof clothing to the military and those who worked outdoors, and in the 1930s creating a range of motorcycles later worn by Steve McQueen. It is now in its sixth generation as a family business and a trio of women – Dame Margaret Barbour, Queen Elizabeth and Alexa Chung – embody how it became what it is today.
Dame Margaret, the company’s 84-year-old chairman, is what Barbour’s young ‘Hackney Farmer’ fans might call ‘a bit of a legend’. In 1964 she married John Barbour, the great-grandson of the brand’s founder, who had started out on the Market Place in South Shields selling oilskins from Scotland. She believed she could live a quiet life as a teacher and mother to their young daughter Helen. But when John died suddenly in 1968, Margaret was thrust into his family business, working alongside his mother Nancy ‘Granny’ Barbour. make it a success.
From this somewhat unlikely base, she has done just that and transformed the family business. And that’s where the late Queen Elizabeth comes into the picture. She remains the woman at the heart of the Barbour look: rural, uncomplicated and characterized by strict functionality. This demographic of Barbour wearers is accidentally elegant instead of choosing theirs as a true fashion statement.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when the late Queen got her first Barbour, but there are dozens of images of her at Windsor and Balmoral from the 1970s, wearing a kilt, sturdy walking boots and one of her beloved Hermes headscarves. She famously refused offers from Barbour to have her jacket (so old that her style had long been out of production) replaced, preferring instead to have it re-waxed.
“Barbour’s main appeal is its link with tradition,” confirms Dr Benjamin Wild, senior lecturer in fashion storytelling at Manchester Metropolitan University. “As a family business founded in the 19th century, with three royal warrants and an enviable list of royal clients, Barbour can easily be associated with British aristocracy and rural leisure activities.”
Dame Margaret, who now works closely with managing director Steve Buck and her daughter Helen, who is vice-chairman, has kept this contingent happy by gently updating the signature styles and ensuring that high production standards are maintained (the waxed jackets are still made in the Northeast, while other products are manufactured worldwide).
But for every Queen-like customer, you need an Alexa Chung (or two). The Hampshire-born It-girl, who grew up with Barbour looking after her ponies, repurposed the jackets as a fashion item and led the trend of wearing them with party favors at Glastonbury and around town, where the closest you’ll get to a a dot comes mud as a garnish in the latest concept restaurant. After years of wearing her Beaufort wax jacket, Chung launched a multi-season collaboration with the brand in 2019 – the Princess of Wales even added one of the designs to her collection of at least five Barbour jackets.
The age of Alexa allowed Barbour to appeal to a new generation. Sienna Miller, Dominic Cooper and Fearne Cotton are among the famous fans and it’s been all over the screen The crown And Succession to James Bond films. The label has taken the cool factor and run with it, launching collaborations with labels from French fashion house Chloé to luxury interior label House of Hackney, which act as a glamorous complement to the sturdy weatherproof jackets. It cited recent collaborations with Scandi label Ganni and Gucci as one of the reasons it has achieved staggering sales this year.
These collaborations have also attracted a new contingent of fans who may not have invested in classic olive green style. “I always thought Barbour was the domain of the outdoor set – with their classic wax jackets and a pair of boots,” says fashion editor Erica Davies, who recently bought a Barbour jacket from another collaboration with Roksanda Ilincic.
“Since I moved to the countryside myself, I can totally see the appeal [of Barbour] but it was their Roksanda collection that I really fell for – its signature bright colors combined with their weatherproof functionality,” continues Davies.
“I bought the maroon and neon yellow IDA jacket when it first came out and then sent it back because I felt guilty about the price. But it was the piece I couldn’t stop thinking about, even adding it as a warning on several beloved platforms. A year later it was reduced to 30 percent of the original price and I bought it back! I’ve been stopped from wearing it so many times, by men and women. The color and style are striking, but it really is like wearing a cuddly toy.”
The next Barbour fashion must-have will be the collaboration with London Fashion Week designer Erdem, inspired by Deborah Mitford, the former Duchess of Devonshire, and the ornate fabrics in the archives of the ducal seat, Chatsworth House. It will be available in stores from the end of next month. “The SS24 Erdem show was one of my favorite collections from the brand, and the ‘Debo’ theme played beautifully into what fashion always wants to do: look back while shifting momentum forward,” says fashion consultant Ginnie Chadwyck-Healey, who remembers getting her first Barbour at age six (“possibly the only time I did ‘father/daughter dressing’ – my siblings had them too”).
We shouldn’t deny how much power the classic Barbour aesthetic this collaboration speaks to still holds. Chadwyck-Healey explains how Barbour, being synonymous with all things British, gives him weight on the world stage. “A Barbour is what every American wants because of the ‘cute English country look’, and the Asian market loves that too. That’s a lot of audience types to cater to, but the brand did it. No wonder Rishi Sunak chose to give what the Duke of Edinburgh once called one of “those smelly, sweaty, sticky old coats” to Joe Biden during a visit to the US last summer.
Prada also imitated Barbour in its SS24 collection – although its version will undoubtedly cost a lot more than the £200-£300 Barbour charges for a classic wax jacket. For anyone who doesn’t want to wait twenty winters to get the battered, lived-in look that is now so desirable, you can pick up a vintage-style Barbour on eBay, Depop or Vestiaire Collective for around £100.
Wild summarizes Barbour’s business success this way: “In an increasingly crowded marketplace, Barbour’s commitment to a product design and philosophy that is simple and resolute is helping the company cut through the noise of many newer outerwear brands.”
But emotion is everything. And no one says it better than supermodel Yasmin Le Bon, another recent collaborator. “Barbour jackets have always been in the background, always something you can rely on. I can’t imagine life without it.”
Which Barbour suits you?
Jacquard Beaufort jacket, £1,970, Gucci x Barbour Re-Loved; Burghley padded jacket, £395, Barbour x Ganni
Ennis padded jacket, £229, Barbour; Explorer wax jacket, £649, Barbour x CP
Marie shower proof trench, £259, Barbour; Barbour Border Jacket, £70, The doll
Beaufort Wax Coat, £289, Barbour
More Barbour looks
