Thomas Burberry develops gabardine, a weatherproof cotton fabric

Thomas Burberry, an English draper who had opened his own shop in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in 1856, developed gabardine in 1879. The fabric is a tightly woven cotton twill, and the yarn is treated before weaving so that it sheds water while still letting air pass through.

Accounts of its origin say Burberry was struck by the practical clothing of local country workers, notably shepherds, whose smock-style garments were naturally protected by lanolin, the waxy grease found in sheep's wool. Those garments resisted rain yet were comfortable to wear. Burberry sought to reproduce that effect in a cloth that was lighter and less heavy than the rubberised fabrics then used for waterproof clothing, which were stiff and did not breathe.

Gabardine mattered because it gave outdoor clothing a new balance of protection and comfort. Burberry patented it in 1888 and the cloth became central to the brand's coats for travellers, explorers and sportsmen. It later became the material for the military coats that evolved into the trench coat, whose design features are the subject of today's story.