Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about
the hidden lives of ordinary things.
We think we know the trench coat, but where does it come from and where
will it take us? From its origins in the trenches of WW1, this military
outerwear came to project the inner-being of detectives, writers,
reporters, rebels, artists and intellectuals. The coat outfitted
imaginative leaps into the unknown. Trench Coat tells the story of
seductive entanglements with technology, time, law, politics, trust and
trespass. Readers follow the rise of a sartorial archetype through
media, design, literature, cinema and fashion. Today, as a staple in
stories of future life-worlds, the trench coat warns of disturbances to
come.
Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The
Atlantic.