With the last festival of the year currently in full swing on the Isle of Wight, this week’s Most Loved post is a combination of practical all weather gear, with a nod to musical and architectural history...
With the last festival of the year currently in full swing on the Isle of Wight, this week’s Most Loved post is a combination of practical all weather gear, with a nod to musical and architectural history. First issued to soldiers during Vietnam, the M-65 Field Coat was a key element of the uniform that kept the troops dry and warm on the battlefield. Now, like aviator shades and leather jackets, camouflage and khaki, pea jackets and sailor sweaters, the sturdy functionality of the field coat has been embraced by designers and style icons alike; customarily found both on catwalks – Tommy Hilfiger A/W12 featured a suede version – and amid the muddy chaos of festival campsites.
But this week’s most loved product is not just a wise recommendation in the face of the inevitability of a wet and cold autumn. Military style came into its own in the 1970s, with the mod music scene making it a key part of their aesthetic. Heading the sartorial charge were Joy Division, whose lead singer Ian Curtis was often seen hunkering down in functional green parkas. Following Curtis’s death, the remaining members of the band reincarnated as New Order, a band whose riotous, rollercoaster career is the stuff of legend spanning. Despite 30 years of highs and lows, drugs, breakdowns, seemingly insoluble differences, tomorrow sees them take the headlining slot at Bestival. This provides an off kilter connection to the Lover of the week, Dazed Group Publishing Manager Liam Kelly, whose father, the legendary designer Ben Kelly, cut his teeth creating the iconic interior of Manchester’s world famous nightclub The Haçienda, whose upkeep was mostly funded by New Order sales.
Here we speak to Kelly about his plans for the end of summer, the importance of combining style with substance and his taste for airborne field sports.
Why did you choose to love this coat?
Style and substance is a rare commodity.
Where would you wear it?
Everywhere – it's combat ready.
What is your favourite field activity?
Power-kiting.
If you could own anything, what would it be?
Right now, a VW Transporter – sports version with full mods. Probably something different tomorrow – life would be boring if I couldn't keep changing my mind.
How are you marking the end of summer?
An illegal party somewhere.
What was the last thing you bought?
It was my birthday recently. A skateboard, a Fred Perry Harrington from the Laurel Wreath collection and a pair of Nike Air Force 1 basketball boots.
What is your favourite online shop?
I prefer car boot sales.
