Outerwear, at its core, is rooted in function. Our second collaboration with Lavenham explores this interplay. Founded in 1969, the brand produced the first quilted nylon horse rug and continues to make some of the best quilted products in the world. Lavenham’s quilted jackets are the kind of pieces that have remained relatively unchanged since their inception, but remain especially relevant today.

Items like the fishtail parka and field jacket were originally designed with soldiers and farmers in mind, and as industrialization took its course, the original function gradually took a backseat to aesthetics. When particular pieces became the adopted uniform of global subcultures, they acquired a whole new meaning. Before boutiques and specialty stores existed, people would get military-inspired jackets and hard-wearing clothes from outfitters. Although the contrasting squares on so-called “buffalo plaid” dates back to the U.S. in the 1800s—where it first appeared on blankets. Their origins place them back in Scotland where tartans are associated with distinct clans. The famous “red and black lumberjack” that the Notorious B.I.G. once rapped about began as “Macgregor Red and Black” tartan, before evolving into the buffalo plaid we know today once a Pennsylvania manufacturer called Woolrich Woolen Mills began weaving it into shirts.

The M-51 Fishtail Parka began as standard-issue outerwear for American soldiers during the Korean War in the 1950s. A decade later, it became the uniform of rebellious youth who wore it while zipping through London streets on scooters. Reinterpreting these items through the lens of how global style turns functional pieces into subcultural symbols, Noah x Lavenham is a uniform for today's iconoclasts and cultural pioneers.