D’Artagnan and the three musketeers crossing swords with Milady and Richelieu’s men, Légolas and Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, Link going to save Zelda, Batman overlooking Gotham, Eren Jäger or Livaï Ackerman in Attack on Titan, the jedis Star Wars sauce… Classical culture and pop cultureare full of (almost) male characters unanimously recognized as badass and epic in their adventures, their courage, their charisma… and their style.
In terms of outfit, there is precisely one item of clothing that all of these characters agree on: the cape. The one that floats in the wind, sculpts the hero’s silhouette and strengthens his aura. Because even if you have to save Middle-earth, go and free the princess or take down the titans, you might as well do it in a stylish outfit.
Practicality at the expense of pure aesthetics
Despite this popularity, the cape has all but disappeared from the real world. No matter how long you travel across France, you won’t find the shadow of a man looking at the horizon with his cape whipping the air (unless you go to the Japan Expo or a medievalist festival, but This is cheating). “I find Livaï or Aragorn mega-stylish, especially with their long capes, but I don’t see myself wearing that at all in the open space or at the bar,” admits Théo, 32, who is hard to imagine working in his Parisian Credit Agricole a cape in the wind.
It must be said that the iconic object no longer corresponds to the strictures of our wardrobes, according to Serge Carreira, lecturer at Sciences Po, fashion and luxury specialist: “The men’s wardrobe has evolved towards more practicality and utility to the detriment of aesthetics from the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, all of fashion tends towards ever more comfort.”
And a cape, no matter how stylish, is long, it floats, it drags, it doesn’t fit well, it doesn’t cover the whole body. In short, it’s not very practical, agrees Thomas Zylberman, fashion expert at the Carlin International trend office: “It’s not at all convenient for an urban lifestyle with, for example, cycling, scooters, bloodless sidewalks. It’s not a functional piece of clothing.”
Especially compared to formidable competition: coat, pea coat, parka and down jacket. So of course, it’s less stylish than a musketeer look, but at least it keeps you warm and protects you from the fleet. You have to keep up with the times, underlines Serge Carreira: “The current trend is more to stylize utilitarian clothing, like the down jacket, than to bring a purely aesthetic garment up to date. »
A timid return
Shyly, the cape rears its head again, especially among women – whose fashion contains extremely uncomfortable accessories (yes, heels, we’re thinking of you). Sophie Malagola, fashion designer and former collections director at DIM and Etam, notes “a return of the cape and sophisticated clothing in the women’s wardrobe, such as heels for example, since last winter. Designers like Balmain or Gucci are putting them back in the fashion shows. The cape is now often in fairly neutral tones, it offers a very beautiful look, in very different materials: woolen sheets, wool, cocoon. In the men’s wardrobe, on the other hand, it is almost absent, while there is a rapprochement of wardrobes between the genders. »
Thomas Zylberman adds that capes are sometimes present in certain (rare) men’s shows, such as at Céline. But that’s a bit of the problem with this garment: a little too much in the splits. “Either you opt for a glittery Céline cape for a truly grandiose evening outfit and you look like a rock star, or you have the purely utilitarian rain cape with very little aesthetic appeal. There is no middle ground,” points out the fashion expert.
An imagination too rich and too present
And if, by wearing it in such a stylish wayby saving the world rather than doing their shopping or cleaning, d’Artagnan, Legolas and the Jedi had paradoxically buried this garment? “It’s difficult to separate the image of the cape from heroic-fantasy folklore and the “Cloak and Daggers” universe. It has a lot of connotations, perhaps too much, for us to think of anything else. It immediately appears like a disguise,” adds Thomas Zylberman.
Especially since if we are talking here about a stylized icon, the cape does not lack incarnation either, a little less badass. “For me, the cape reminds me more of Superman, tights and briefs on the pants. There’s too much of a ridiculous and goofy side to wearing it,” says Anthony, 28, from the comfort of his down jacket. “It’s a basic theatrical accessory, and its romantic reputation in pop culture reinforces that,” underlines Serge Carreira. We quickly enter into caricature. »
And the lack of supply doesn’t help. Thomas Zylberman admits defeat: “If you ask me where to find a cape, I wouldn’t even know what to answer. » There remains an alternative for musketeer souls, according to the expert: wear your coat without putting on the sleeves. But be careful not to look like a mafia godfather style. One caricatured imagination can chase away another.