How boilersuits became the hottest trend for spring

What was once considered humdrum factory uniform is now one of this season’s must-have styles

Olivia Petter
Sunday 28 April 2019 12:54 BST
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In the weird and wonderful world of fashion trends, there are many eccentricities that you’d struggle to wear in your daily life.

But there’s good news for those who have tried and failed to get to grips with cycling shorts, crotchless jeans and car mat skirts, because this season’s sartorial wunderkind is surprisingly user-friendly.

The humble boilersuit needs no introduction, having cemented itself as a utilitarian workwear staple in the 20th century, worn by factory workers and those in the military.

While the style that was once synonymous with grease and grime has been reworked over the years via different fabrics and silhouettes, in 2019 it has become one of the most in-demand wardrobe items.

Boilersuits are now produced by some of the most esteemed fashion houses, with offerings at Isabel Marant, IRO and Maison Margiela leading the way in terms of sales on luxury online retailer Net-a-Porter. As for celebrity fans, look to Kate Moss, Liv Tyler or Cate Blanchett, all of whom have worn the style with aplomb in recent months.

Demand for boilersuits has reached such heights this year, that Net-a-Porter increased its production by 475 per cent for spring/summer 2019.

It’s also a key piece over on the high street, as Anthony Cuthbertson, global design director at Topshop and Topman, tells The Independent.

“Sales have been consistently strong across all boilersuit styles at Topshop this season,” he explains. “We currently have 17 different designs available online in a range of colours and washes.”

Daisy Bridgewater, founder of fashion brand Spry Workwear, credits the boilersuit’s resurgence to the design’s dual cultural and sartorial impact. “With regards to the former, it’s become a nod to third-wave feminism – we need clothes that protect and enable us, and a boilersuit works as an empowering uniform in this way.”

Model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley packs a style punch in this bubblegum pink boilersuit.

In the latter sense, it has increasingly been worn as a sign of protest against fast fashion, given how much the style lends itself to sturdy and durable craftsmanship, Bridgewater explains. “My boilersuits are carefully made in the UK in an original East Anglian workwear factory, and built to last,” she says. The boilersuit’s “all-in-one” versatile design alone eschews the need for multiple garments to complete a look, further championing quality and longevity over quantity.

The long-lasting quality attached to contemporary boilersuits is also a nod to the garment’s history, given that many of the modern styles are re-workings of vintage designs that would’ve been worn by industrial workers and those in the armed forces during the early 1900s.

MC Overalls polycotton collared zip overall: £150, Shrimps Antonia bag in cream: £450, & Other Stories raw edge stone hanging earrings: £17, Diemme, brown and black leopard print boots: £340.

Boilersuits were worn by civilians in Britain during the Second World War, explains Harriet Atkinson, senior design lecturer at the University of Brighton. “They became known as ‘siren suits’, which were designed to be pulled over night clothing before rushing out to bomb shelters at the sound of an air-raid siren,” she tells The Independent.

Atkinson adds that today, the boilersuit “is a perfect encapsulation of this fashion moment” given the rise of unisex clothing and the wider shift towards fluid fashion. “It allows for gender non-specificity, cuts across class boundaries delineating the dress suitable for different forms of work and eschews fussy frills and patterning in favour of bold blocks of colour.”

Frame belted cotton and linen-blend jumpsuit: £320, Zara crossbody wooden bag: £29.99, Sam Edelman Winona glossed-leather ankle boots: £165, Accessorize chunky small hoop earrings: £12

The boilersuit has also become a key part of the fledgling streetwear scene, spearheaded by Off-White’s Virgil Abloh, who has swiftly risen to the upper echelons of the fashion industry thanks to his sporty, comfort-first aesthetic.

James Scroggs, founder of workwear brand M.C. Overalls, explains that the boilersuit fits neatly into the “athleisure” sphere because streetwear began as an extension of workwear.

“Streetwear was originally about appropriating traditional utilitarian silhouettes, protective, robust fabrics and reductive styling out of industrial or working environments onto the casual street,” he tells The Independent.

Raey zip-front cotton-blend jumpsuit: £495, Staud mini Shirley leather & PVC tote bag: £160, Elise Tsikis lakkia beaded hoop earrings: £100, Topshop Casablanca chunky trainers: £25

“In essence, both require hard-wearing fabrics, simplicity in style, often a little oversized to ensure they don’t restrict movement. Whether machinists or contemporary MCs, the overall represents a type of codified uniform.”

Now though, softer fabrics, sharper tailoring and brighter colours have helped reinvent the boilersuit for the modern era. “Boilersuits embody a strength in purpose, focus and simplicity, both stately and streetwise, without sacrificing femininity,” Scroggs continues.

As for how to wear them? Fashion stylist Anna Berkeley tells The Independent that finding the perfect fit for your shape is key. “It’s easier to wear a softer, neater shape if you’re curvy and a structured, looser, pocketed shape if you’re angular and tall,” she explains, adding that khaki and navy blue are the most versatile colours if brights aren’t your thing.

Amelia Earhart pictured standing by her plane in 1935.

If you’re really stuck, look to aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart for inspiration, Berkeley suggests. Because even if you’re not convinced by the trend, you can wear your boilersuit in homage to the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, which is a good enough reason as any.

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