It pays to swat up on the best coat brands when you live in the UK. Because, let’s face it, the reality of colder climes means you need outerwear on-hand for most of the year.
As every good fashion girl knows, the outfit beneath means nothing if the coat atop isn’t making a statement. And by statement we mean at the very least saying ‘something’. Whether you’re wearing an understated trench, a laid-back bomber jacket, classic black Crombie or a show-stealing Mongolian number, these pieces not only keep you warm and dry, but speak volumes.
Our top five coat brands
Best British coat brand – Charlotte Simone
Best for Mongolian lambswool coats – Ducie
Best trench coat brand - Burberry
Best designer coat brand – Totême
Best camel coat brand – Max Mara
You’ll need a few in your repertoire, depending on the season and occasion. As a fashion editor, I collect coats because I feel more connected to them than my clothes (I also spend a lot of time sitting outside coffee shops). After all, trends come and go, but the right outerwear will serve you for a decade.
And you don’t have to spend a fortune to bag a coat that does actually last years. Look for natural fibres like wool, cashmere and leather (synthetics don’t wear well and will result in that dreadful pilling) and opt for a silhouette that feels truly timeless. When shopping for a canonical jacket like a (the aforementioned trench and bomber, or a biker), make sure you stick to its roots to make your purchase go the distance – anything that’s a riff on an icon will feel dated in a few seasons.
We’ve rounded up the best coat brands worth knowing about to inspire your next big outerwear purchase. And the next. And the one after that, too.
Nour Hammour
Best for leather and suede coats
Nour Hammour is a self-proclaimed luxury outerwear label. The French brand specialises in just the kind of striking designs we've spotlighted in our opening coat-stanning spiel, with a special focus on beautiful fabrications: croc-effect patent leather, buttery chocolate suede, plush shearling and faux fur, as well as sleek bonded black and burgundy leathers.
And while coats are the order of the day at Nour Hammour, the brand does dabble in an occasional suede short or leather skirt – with the sole intention of a head-to-toe statement being made. Unsurprisingly, Em Rata, Rosie HW, Gigi Hadid and Selena Gomez are all huge fans.
Burberry
Best trench coat brand
We couldn't not include Burberry in this round-up, since this is the brand that invented the trench coat. Over 100 years later, the British powerhouse (now headed up by Daniel Lee) is still going strong with its collection of staple coats. The aptly name Walterloo, Kensington and Chelsea trenches are forever best-sellers, but this season Lee has been experimenting with boucle, reversible check and fur-trimmed iterations. If you're looking to invest, we recommend trying the Castleford – it's in practical showerproof gabardine, and the oversized Eighties-inspired fit strikes the balance between directional and timeless.
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Charlotte Simone
Best British coat brand
Charlotte Simone, known for her signature Penny Lane inspired coats, has been an insider favourite since she launched her namesake brand in 2015. But in the past year, the British brand has catapulted to global fame – and it’s thanks to A-list fans such as Dua Lipa, Lila Moss, Charli XCX and Gigi Hadid, the designer says. 'The response we saw from Taylor Swift wearing our red Lulu coat was just absolutely phenomenal,' she tells ELLE UK.
A few years back, Simone pivoted to a more sustainable, small-scale production model, with only three coveted drops per year. Oh, and her annual sample sale, which is on from now until April 2 (but hurry because there are only 150 one-of-a-kind and archive pieces available).
Ducie
Best best London-based coat brand
Ducie Keam-George actually launched her namesake brand in 2004, but in recent years she’s become a serious contender in the global fashion sphere; celebrity fans like Hailey Bieber, Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez have helped, not to mention securing Revolve as a stockist. Inspired by London life and her Bajan roots, Ducie started as a stall in Notting Hill’s Portobello Market, and soon fans racked up – including West London’s glitterati Poppy Delevingne, Sienna Miller and Lucinda Chambers – and waiting lists grew. The brand tells ELLE UK that AW2024 was its best quarter yet, thanks to the Rochelle Mongolian shearling jacket and Corrin suede full length trench flying off virtual shelves.
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Max Mara
Best for camel coats
Max Mara needs no introduction. This is the brand that created an 'It' coat moment. In 1951, long before labels were subverting gender constructs with clothing, the Italian fashion house was designing traditionally masculine outwear with women in mind.
But we don't think of Max Mara purely in terms of borrowed-from-the-boys trends, we think of its camel coats – first debuted in 1981 – as the definition of quiet luxury. A staple that slots into every *rich* woman's wardrobe (Meghan Markle, Kim K, Angelina Jolie, Amal Clooney and Alexa Chung, to name a few) and will never, ever date. Not only has this design spawned a thousand lookalikes in recent decades, it's a whole category in its own right.
The Frankie Shop
Best for directional coats
We can't remember a year when The Frankie Shop didn't drop a viral outerwear design. First there was the Bea blazer, then the Astra bomber, then the quilted ripstock jacket everybody in London seemed to own, then the fluffy pink John coat and now the irresistible Delphina – a double-breasted, wool maxi coat that's decidedly less trend-led than what came before and will stick around for years to come. Need we continue?
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Barbour
Best for practical-but-chic coats
Barbour was always a figurehead of the great British outerwear offering, but it wasn't until recently that the heritage brand became a fashion darling. A clever collaboration schedule has ensured constant success – and we're talking Erdem, Alexa Chung, Ganni, Baracuta, Gucci and so many more greats. And with the rise of Y2k Indie Sleaze trends and 2025's 'barn jacket', the core collection of wax outerwear has never felt more relevant.
Totême
Best for understated elegance
Totême is best know for its capsules approach to dressing: understated but directional (think sculptural and artistic rather than buzzy) staples in a neutral colour palettes that are designed to transcend trends. So we were surprised when the Stockholm-based brand managed to create one of the buzziest, most-copied coats of the decade. The label's scarf coat, a simple, swing style with a detachable matching fringed scarf, with its signature blanket stitching first launched in 2021 and has since reached global – and TikTok viral – fame.
If you don't want a piece of the buzz, you can always rely on Totême for luxurious waterfall wool coats, workwear-y barn jackets and reversible shearling and leather styles that'll last forever.
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De Savary
Best for Mongolian lambswool
Once know as Jane & Tash, this British brand re-launched last year under the name of De Savary. And those Mongolian lambswool coats you've been seeing everywhere? Likely by the label, which has taken off on Instagram and TikTok. If you're looking for a slice of affordable luxury, De Savary's lineup is ideal – think chocolate brown suede everything (blazers, outerwear, shorts, the lot), cow print shearling jackets, tailored wool trenches and shaggy faux fur maxi coats, all ringing it at under £1,000.
Yves Salomon
Best for Shearling coats
This family-run coat brand's history runs deep. Yves Salomon continued in his father's footsteps (who came to Paris from Russia to work as a furrier in the 1920s) when launching his namesake brand (alongside creating for greats such as Azzedine Alaïa, Nina Ricci, Thierry Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier) in the 1980s. He now works with his son in this new contemporary era of the brand: alongside made-to-order items and the brand's luxurious shearling and leather coats, they now offer ready-to-wear womenswear and menswear collections.
Abigail Southan
Senior Fashion Ecommerce Editor
Abigail Southan is our Senior Fashion Ecommerce Editor and has five years' experience as a writer and editor in the industry. Abigail has a BA in History from the University of Bristol and an MA in Fashion Journalism from Central Saint Martins. Abigail currently covers all things style and shopping across titles including Harper’s Bazaar, ELLE, Esquire and Red. On a daily basis, she helps readers buy better with how-to-wear guides, first-person product reviews and deep dives into the latest trends. Previously, Abigail has worked for The Sunday Times’ Style and Fabulous magazine as their first ecommerce writer and was a founding editor of Sun Selects. She has also written for Net-a-Porter, I-D, Man About Town, Wonderland and 1 Granary, and has interviewed the likes of Paris Hilton, Dua Lipa and Christopher Bailey. You can follow Abigail on Instagram at @abigailsouthan.