The Burberry trench coat has been one of those covetable outerwear for any fashion lover. But before it become a fashion item, the trench coat was used purely for utilitarian purposes. 

Back in 1880, Thomas Burberry (the founder of Burberry) developed a type of rugged and water-resistant twill fabric called garbadine. He the submitted a design for an army's raincoat to England's war office in 1901 and was later commissioned to create a garbadine coat for the officers. It's main purpose was to keep the soldiers warm and dry as well as well-ventilated during the war. 

Did you know? It took Burberry more than two decades and a world war to perfect the coat's design. By World War I, he had made the coat a bit lighter and gave it shoulder epaulets, storm flaps and a D-ring belt. More than half a million British troops wore them while fighting in the trenches. That was how the name "Trench Coat" came about. 

Here's a breakdown of how the trench coat was made:

Though we don't have the classic trench coat consigned to us, here are two modern interpretations of the coat that you can get your hands on. 

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(left) Burberry Plaid trench coat; (right) Burberry Prorsum Studded Trench jacket