Men's parkas

From the distant and cold Arctic lands to the everyday life of the metropolitan man. The parka coat made a long journey to reach the male wardrobe and become a real must-have for the most casual and trendy men.

Big pockets and hood, but not only, for the most modern and fashionable parkas

Do you distinguish a parka from an eskimo? They are very similar models, both originate from the traditions and folk costume of Inuit people, who live in the Arctic Circle and who therefore need comfortable and extremely protective coats.

But the eskimo is more suited to harsh climates, because it’s a coat usually lined with fur and with a large hood lined with fur too.

The classic parka instead is a coat suitable for all seasons, because it could be lined or not, made of light or heavier fabrics. Usually it’s a medium-long coat, with wide proportions, straight lines and equipped with many details that make it extremely comfortable.

The hood, for example, is one of its key features. It could be both detachable and fixed and is often edged with contrasting fur, as in the proposals by Saint Laurent, Fay and Brioni. Pockets, that this year become exaggerated for brands specializing in sports outerwear such as Canada Goose, are very important too.

The parka became part of male wardrobe since the 1950s, when London and American young rebels began to wear this sporting garment over formal suits, giving life to an extremely important youth movement, the Beat Generation.

Effectively this coat has an extremely casual spirit, that makes it perfect for daytime outfits and for street-style, that’s why it’s reintroduced by very trendy brands like Public School and Off-White.

But the parka could also have more extravagant silhouettes, like the extra-long versions proposed by Versace, Rick Owens, Y-3 and Thom Browne, or the broad cape lines proposed by Mackintosh.

Nylon, cotton, jeans and special effects for the most particular men's parkas

One of the fundamental elements of parka is fabric, because on it will depend important features like weight, warmth, comfort and practicality. If originally the traditional eskimo jacket was made of fur, today there are many types of fabric that make the parka suitable for any time of the year.

The most classic fabric is certainly heavy cotton, which could be lined with sheepskin as in the case of Valentino, and which is usually colored in dark shades.

Since the 50s, one of the most used fabrics is nylon, which gives a light consistency to waterproof parkas like those by Burberry, Nike and K-Way. Other technical fabrics, used for example by Fay, are extremely performing and adapt to any weather condition.

But the parka could also have more imaginative variants, like the street-style ones made in jeans by both Gucci and Balenciaga or the patchwork effect by Avant Toi. Berluti decorates it with contrasting leather edges, but the most extreme version is the vinyl one, proposed by Dsquared2, which gives a cutting-edge touch to this piece of men's clothing.

From classic military green to fancy prints, here's how to choose the trendiest parka for the season

Being a coat born for outdoors, the most classic colors of parka are the natural ones like khaki, seen on catwalk at Alexander McQueen, Giorgio Armani and Brioni, the brown used by Loro Piana and especially the military green.

This tone is by far the most iconic and for this reason it’s present in many menswear collections of the most prestigious brands, such as Marni, Paul Smith, Undercover, Etro and Valentino.

To use the parka in combination with any other garment or accessory, you could opt for another great classic, black. This color makes extremely modern the Philipp Plein and Alexander McQueen’s traditional parkas. It gives shine to the technical fabric of Barbour’s parka, to the one with detachable lining by Tom Ford and also to those with the fur hood created by Woolrich.

But who said that the parka coat should only be classic? Among the most beautiful innovations seen in men's fashion shows, there are many colors and fancy motifs:

• Red is a shade that perfectly suits to nylon parkas, like the ones by Balenciaga and Fay
• Woolrich focus on shocking shades like electric blue and yellow
• Dsquared2 and Calvin Klein follow the 80s trend, with neon colors and reflective details
• Stone Island and Avant Toi create interesting faded effects for their most cutting-edge parkas
• Camouflage print is loved by the more casual brands like Yves Salomon, Canada Goose and Zadig & Voltaire
• The brand’s logo becomes a geometric motif for the parkas in technical fabric by Gucci and Kenzo
• 50s reminiscences mixed with street-style for the gingham printed parka coats by Junya Watanabe
• Prabal Gurung interprets the romanticism of floral prints with a pop touch and fluorescent colors