by “I’m looking for a finance guy. Trust fund, 6ft 5, blue eyes.” The lyrics to Man in Finance, the earworm song about bankers that took over the airwaves earlier this year, might also add: wearing a gilet.
Also known as the “financial chest vest” or “City boy gilet”, the sleeveless layer is making a comeback this month thanks to Industry to our television screens.
In the third season of the espresso-paced show about young bankers making and breaking their way in the corporate world, gilets are almost a character in their own right. Some are branded with the logo of the fictional investment bank Pierpoint, and employees wear them over shirts and ties, in the boardroom and on the trading floor.
“The gilet has a wider reach as a piece in the show,” said costume designer Laura Smith, “[It] that does a lot of work to show how people belong and come to terms with the world of the show.”
It’s a look we’ve seen before full of meaning – and ripe for the taking – on Tom Wambsgans in Succession. As Roman Roy’s character barbs: “He’s so puffy. What is it filled with? Your hopes and dreams?”
But for each of them IndustryMore of a reflection of the world of banking, the ubiquity of the gilet in the series is rooted in reality. At Hackett, “demand is steadily increasing, with sales increasing by around 10% year on year”, according to chief product officer Gianni Colarossi.
At Marylebone tailors William Crabtree & Sons, sales of the Grasmere gilet have increased by 20% year-on-year since they opened their bricks and mortar store four years ago. It’s hard to say, said business owner James Priestley, “whether the increase in sales is directly due to the show Industry but there seems to be a general growth in the sales of our gilet”. Charles Tyrwhitt reported a gilet-fuelled spike in sales earlier this year, predicting the business would grow by 20% over the next year.
Along with the quarter zip sweater, the gilet has become synonymous with corporate attire, perhaps particularly banker. “It’s such a specific piece of clothing that people recognize and is very much associated with that industry of bankers,” said writer and style and culture editor TJ Sidhu. Sometimes padded, sometimes wool, sometimes microfleece – those with the Patagonia brand are very popular – they are a singular garment, so it makes sense as a symbol that people can stick to them; nicer than a suit or shirt.
“It has almost come to represent the style of banking and it has become a parody,” says one graduate working in banking in London who asked not to be named. In one viral TikTok video by clothing brand Reiss, which has more than 3m views, a flashmob pretending to be Finance Bros dance to Man in Finance, all clad in identical gilets.
But for those working in the industry, the graduate said, “we are not part of the parody. This is what we wore before that trend started and we will continue to wear after it.”
The appeal of it is that it is practical, above all else, especially on a hot commute. The gilet means “you can keep your body warm but you don’t sweat too much.” Plus, he said, “you can take it out and put it in your bag.”
Part of its dominance in recent years is due to office attire being more casual, more post-pandemic. With the rise of working from home, gilets became one sartorial answer to the requirement to be smart, at least smart, for Zoom calls, but at the same time a little cheaper, to show that you weren’t actually within 10 meters. of a photocopier. Now, even back in the office, the gilet has a less formal aesthetic in a nod to the continued relaxation of what is considered acceptable office attire.
In industries like banking, Sidhu said, people tend to favor uniformity of style. As for men, he said, “I think it really gives them a sense of belonging.” He compares it to spaces like football stands and pubs “where we see these specific types of clothing”.
Whether they are or not Industryas well as its presence in the social media spotlight, it will boost gilet sales outside the Square Mile which remains to be seen. Could the sleeveless garment even begin to garner kudos in the fashion industry? “Never say never,” said Sidhu.
“In the last decade or so we’ve seen so many trends come and go that we never thought were fashionable, let alone fashionable.” He points to Crocs – there are many examples of “ugly” clothes that somehow make the zeitgeist”.
Maybe if some fruit options were provided, it might be different. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bro banker wear a patterned head, [or] one in a nice juicy color,” he said.
With the so-called “corpcore” trend giving us a new look at the usual 9 to 5 outfits, gilets may be the next item to give us a Gen Z twist. “In the hands of the right hand, the banker’s bro-ish gilet could be biased, perhaps, to very stylistic effect.”
