Sofia Coppola was an influencer long before the term became a job description. In the decades since the public first met her as the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, she has become known to subsequent generations not only as a filmmaker in her own right but as an ineffable font of good taste whose auteurship is as clear on screen as it is off.
On Thursday, the Priscilla director jaunted through Milan in one of her typically understated ensembles: loose gray wool trousers, a navy knit jumper, and well-worn Stan Smiths (haven’t heard that name in years!). But it was her cool, slouchy blue windbreaker—which she accessorized, naturally, with a quilted Chanel bag over her shoulder—that made me, a person who has never particularly desired to own a windbreaker or any other high-performance apparel, want to invest in some weatherproof outerwear.
As GQ columnist Chris Black wrote last fall, “The way [Coppola] presents herself and her work walks a perfect line between highbrow and approachable, never veering too far either way.” The same can be said for Coppola’s particular outfit here, which falls somewhere between the highbrow factor of a Chanel bag and the approachability of a practical rain jacket. Here, the director approaches light-jacket season with the deft elegance of dressing for utility rather than steez. And what’s more “quiet luxury” than that?
Coppola’s actual jacket is the 65/35 Mountain Parka from The North Face Purple Label, the Japan-exclusive imprint from the iconic American gearmaker in collaboration with cult-favorite Japanese label Nanamica. And naturally, it is currently sold out online. Understanding my newfound need for a cool weatherproof jacket, however, my colleagues at GQ Recommends kindly unearthed some just-as-suitable substitutes to sate the craving.
