Trench redux: the designers reimagining the outerwear staple for a new season
From Loewe to Celine, this season’s most striking trench coats, whether timeless silhouettes or outré interpretations
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

A perennial fixture in our wardrobes, thanks to its power to transition from one season to the next, the trench coat has been reimagined over the years in myriad guises, ranging from timeless staples to fully outré interpretations. For S/S 2022, designers delivered some exquisite new ideas. Satoshi Kondo, creative director at Issey Miyake, created a ‘reveal and conceal’ buttoned-up, peek-a-boo asymmetric front, while Aspesi’s offering was generously long. Loro Piana, ever the expert in refined understatement, layered a tantalising flash of lemon yellow as an undercoat beneath its single-breasted overcoat, and Celine’s precise cut was a best-in-class ‘if it ain’t broke’ classic.
S/S 2022’s striking trench coats
Top, coat, £3,070; coat (underneath), £4,930, both by Loro Piana. Above, coat, £5,900, by Alexander McQueen
At Anest Collective, the Shanghai- and Milan-based label that specialises in unconventional tailoring executed with expert craftsmanship, contributing creative director Brendan Mullane reworked the signature single-breasted trench in powder-blue wool and silk with leather details. ‘I transformed it by inserting calculated voluminous pleats to create an elaborated shaping in the lower back,’ he says.
Rokh’s Rok Hwang often revisits the trench with his deft eye and hand, and this season, he cropped, folded and cinched.
At Burberry, Riccardo Tisci’s 20-odd trench interpretations on the catwalk included one with pink suit sleeves peeking out from below a leather cape.
Meanwhile, over at Loewe, Jonathan Anderson, ever the soothsayer of our times, explored a space between protective armour and the surreal, inserting into his collection giant metallic discs that felt part decorative jewellery, part breastplate.
Jacket, price on request; skirt, £550, both by Rokh
Coat; cape; bodysuit, all price on request, by Burberry
Coat, £1,375, by Issey Miyake
Coat, £1,515, by Aspesi
Coat, £2,350, by Celine
Coat, £4,370, by Khaite
INFORMATION
A version of this article appears in the May 2022 issue of Wallpaper*, on newsstands now and available to subscribers (opens in new tab)
Tilly is a British writer, editor and digital consultant based in New York, covering luxury fashion, jewellery, design, culture, art, travel, wellness and more. An alumna of Central Saint Martins, she is Contributing Editor for Wallpaper* and has interviewed a cross section of design legends including Sir David Adjaye, Samuel Ross, Pamela Shamshiri and Piet Oudolf for the magazine.
-
Molteni&C presents its first outdoor furniture collection
Molteni&C translates its signature craftsmanship and style for outdoor living
By Simon Mills • Published
-
The globe-trotting Cruise 2024 shows: what to expect
Everything you need to know about the upcoming Cruise 2024 shows, which see fashion brands jetting around the world, from Seoul to Los Angeles
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Oikos reimagines the door as ‘entrance architecture’
Italian security door manufacturer Oikos knows how to make an entrance
By Simon Mills • Published
-
Ten c combines tone, texture and technicality for S/S 2023
Ten c creative director Alessandro Pungetti marries the brand’s signature fabric innovation with evocative hues and textures
By Simon Mills • Published
-
S/S 2023 is the season of dramatic silhouettes
From voluminous to streamlined, photographer Lara Angelil and Wallpaper* fashion director Jason Hughes put S/S 2023’s theatrical forms on a pedestal
By Jack Moss • Published
-
The Givenchy bag combining Parisian elegance with Californian cool
Matthew M Williams’ ‘Voyou’ bag for Givenchy sees the designer meld his American roots with the house’s heritage of French design and craft
By Jack Moss • Published
-
This summer’s best menswear, backdropped by a jewel of Californian modernist architecture
Photographer Niall O’Brien and stylist Ben Schofield travel to California to capture S/S 2023’s best menswear by the pool
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Yasmina Dexter on soundtracking fashion’s biggest shows
Catching up with Yasmina Dexter, whose multilayered sonic assemblages form hypnotic backdrops to art installations, after-parties and catwalk shows – from Ferragamo to Acne Studios
By Ben Perdue • Published
-
Björk’s nail artist Sojin Oh on creating some of the most surreal talons in the business
Nail artist Sojin Oh reveals the creative process beyond her creations for Björk, Arca, Rosalía and more
By Mary Cleary • Published
-
At home with Margaret Howell
At home with British clothing designer Margaret Howell, who talks relaxation, treasured objects and her creative process
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Jacob Cohën by Matthew Adams Dolan sees American denim culture meet Italian craftsmanship
American designer Matthew Adams Dolan and Jacob Cohën artistic director and president Jennifer Tommasi Bardelle talk about their collaborative collection – inspired by American denim archetypes – and plans to continue working side by side
By Jack Moss • Published