Dries Van Noten Agnes B Z Zegna Paul Smith LanvinThe double-breasted jacket has been gaining ground on runways in recent seasons, as designers reprise thissartorial classic in a multitude of vintage-inspired styles. A descendent, like the pea coat, of the Naval Reeferjacket, double-breasted styles emerged in various interpretations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Afavorite for both F/W 11 and S/S 12, designers looked to the past while reinterpreting this traditional silhouette innew fabrics, constructions, and details.King Edward VII Regen Woolen Mills Co.,1905 The Duke of Windsor Steve McQueenThough double-breasted styles evolved from Navy dress, this quintessential tailored jacket quickly emerged as apopular style for civilian clothing, worn throughout the Edwardian and Victorian eras for both daywear and formalstyles. Double-breasted jackets remained popular in multiple permutations throughout the 20th century, rangingfrom 20s-era Palm Beach suits to 60s mod and 80s wall street styles. A sartorial signature of style icons rangingfrom the Duke of Windsor to Steve McQueen, double-breasted jackets return today as a favorite staple for theMen!s market.1920s Douglas Fairbanks & Mary Pickford Z Zegna S/S 12 Milan StreetsThe liberating 20s ushered in a new casual silhouette suited to warmer climesthe Palm Beach suit. Constructedwith a mohair-cotton blend fabric, the Palm Beach suit was cooler than its wool counterparts yet still cut a sharpsilhouette in double-breasted versions, allowing its wearer to beat the heat in style. Designers appropriated thiswarm-weather favorite for S/S 12 in cotton canvas and other lightweight suitings, adding safari-jacket details andcontrast stitching for a resort friendly look.Cary Grant Dries Van Noten F/W 11 London Streets Lionel HamptonVoluminous suiting emerged in the 20s and 30s as gangster influences and zoot suitsa quintessential style forthe swing-loving publicgained ground. Double-breasted jackets were the perfect complement to ultra-widepants, as the two rows of buttons articulated the torso and reigned in this less-than-conventional look. A favoriteof sharp style icons like actor Cary Grant, voluminous, double-breasted suits remained popular with a certainaudience into the 40s, despite the fabric rationing of WWII. Designers reprised this forward silhouette for F/W 11as directional men interpret this look on the streets of fashion capitals.Mick Jagger & Marianne Faithful Z Zegna F/W 11 1970sPlaid double-breasted styles, a signature of the Peacock movement in the 60s and 70s, were surprisingly strongon F/W 11 runways. This bold look was a favorite of rock 'n'roll icons of the era and stylish young men alike.Both small and large-scale windowpane plaids emerged for Fall, with button-placement variations a key designdetail.Steve McQueen Salvatore Ferragamo F/W 12 1969 Milan StreetsThe Mod movement reprised the double-breasted jacket in bold colors and prints, countering their visual impactwith a conservative cut borrowed from the Edwardian era. High break points and narrowly spaced buttonscontributed to this regal yet daring look. Designers reissued Mod-inspired styles for Fall, working withunconventional colors and prints for a retro look.Ralph Lauren 1970s Umit Benan F/W 11 Milan StreetsBloomingdales catalogue, 1978Miami ViceBoxy styles emerged in the late 70s as a key element of office-appropriate power dressing. Ralph Lauren!sseminal menswear collections of the era would come to define the next few decades of men!s work wardrobes, asboxy DB jackets would remain popular into the 90s. The voluminous styles of the 30s and 40s influenced thislook with baggier fits returning to fashion. Boxy DB jackets are enjoying a revival on runways after Hedi Slimane!sskinny silhouettes for Dior Homme dominated Men!s fashion for several years.Andre Leon Talley circa 1978 Giorgio Armani F/W 11 Milan Streets London StreetsDouble-breasted pinstripe suits are at the top of the power-dressing pyramid for Men. Though they first emergedin the 30s and 40s, double-breasted pinstripe suits returned in the 60s and remained popular throughout the 70sand 80s. This icon of the menswear lexicon re-emerged for F/W 11 in lighter suitings and new collar proportions.Florence StreetsFlorence Streets Z Zegna S/S 12 Giorgio Armani F/W 11Florence StreetsMilan StreetsDirectional new variations on the double-breasted jacket are moving this sartorial classic into the 21st century. Asour culture moves towards an ever-more casual style of dressing, inventive interpretations embody sartorialinsouciance, melding conservative elements with laid-back fabrics. To wit, designers rendered double-breastedjackets in knits and lightweight quilted fabrics, in bright prints and lighter colors the break with tradition.1900s 1930s 1940sForecast: Wild Craft: F/W 12 Design Development: Men > Collection Plan | Forecast: Raw Energy: F/W 12Design Development: Men > Jackets | F/W 12 Runway Roadmap: Street Tough > Boss Tweed | F/W 11 RunwayClassifications: Suitings > Double-breasted Suit | The 1930s: Frugality & Escapism > Seeing Double