The plastic mac is back: How the humble raincoat got an upgrade for spring

Caroline Leaper

Updated Mon, February 12, 2018 at 11:03 AM UTC

Chanel's spring 2018 show - Getty Images Contributor

Spring’s showers always require resilient rainwear, but this year, alongside the trusty trenches and staple leather bikers, the designers were tipping an unlikely alter hero jacket; the plastic mac.

Dispelling all associations with fishermen’s windbreakers and log flume ponchos, Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld presented see-through capes punched with crystals on the catwalk, while Marc Jacobs experimented with tonal colours and transparency on longer macs. There are now posh plastics to be found (fetching over the ￡1,000 mark) while at the other end of the spectrum, the cheap poly topper that you previously reserved for hiking in a hail storm should suddenly be reconsidered as a style contender on the coat stand.

Staying dry in style has always been a human priority, but fashionable rainwear as we know it has developed rapidly in recent history. While Charles Macintosh first invented the rubber-coated mackintosh in 1823, and Thomas Burberry gave us the tightly woven gabardine trench in 1879, plastic clothing only became popular after the Second World War when synthetic fabric production boomed and prices dropped.

The plastic mac enjoyed a strong silver screen career in the Fifties (Debbie Reynolds being its Singin' In The Rain poster girl) but it was in the Sixties that the coat really gained its credentials. A psychedelic PVC mac layered over a PVC minidress was a look best completed with PVC boots and giant plastic earrings.

The key to elevating the look now is in the thickness and structure of the fabric - no thin and filmy theme park getup could ever be flattering to wear. A strong and durable mac can serve you with a dramatically beautiful silhouette - midi lengths worn with straight leg jeans and heeled ankle boots will look positively dressed up for dinner.

And then there’s the colour, of course. Colourless was the colour of choice on the catwalks, but in real life you could take your pick from ones with a slight tint, through to a rainbow of opaque incarnations, glossy or matte, which will lift the spirits on any grey day. All that’s left to do is hope for bad weather.

TRACING THE TREND

1946: Singin’ In The Rain

The plastic mac began to be depicted on screen in the late 1940s, as actress June Allyson wore a flower-covered plastic mac in 1946’s Till The Clouds Roll By, while Debbie Reynolds opted for a fisherman’s-style cloak in 1952’s Singin’ In The Rain.

1970: Plastic fantastic

In the Sixties youthquake, cheap plastics ruled and monochrome PVC coats would complete any wipe-clean look. By 1970, even the royals had discovered the trend - Princess Anne wearing a rose-tinted poncho with her dress, instead of a traditionally smart overcoat, on tour.

2018: The mac is back

Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld completed most of his spring 2018 catwalk looks with a clear plastic cape, boots and a rain hat. At Valentino they were trimmed with sequins and at Christopher Kane they had elaborate buttons.