“I’m looking for a man in finance. Trust fund, 6ft 5, blue eyes.” The lyrics to Man in Finance, the earworm hit song about bankers that took over airwaves earlier this year, could also have added: wearing a gilet.
Also known as the “finance bro vest” or “City boy gilet”, the sleeveless layer is in the spotlight this month thanks to the return of Industry to our TV 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 Pierpoint investment bank, and they are worn by employees over shirts and ties, in the boardroom and on the trading floor.
“The gilet as a piece in the show has broader reach,” said costume designer Laura Smith, “[It] does a lot of work in showing how people belong and approach their identity in the world of the show.”
It’s a look we have previously seen loaded with meaning – and ripe for being ripped at – on Tom Wambsgans in Succession. As the character of Roman Roy barbs: “It’s so puffy. What’s it stuffed with? Your hopes and dreams?”
But for all of Industry’s larger-than-life portrayals of banking, the gilet’s omnipresence in the series is rooted in reality. At Hackett, “popularity has steadily increased, with sales growing approximately 10% year over year”, according to chief product officer Gianni Colarossi.
At the Marylebone tailors William Crabtree & Sons, sales for the Grasmere gilet have increased by 20% year-on-year since they opened their bricks-and-mortar store four years ago. It is, said business owner James Priestley, “hard to say whether the increase in sales is due directly to the show Industry but there does seem to be general growth in the sales of our gilet”. Charles Tyrwhitt reported a gilet-fuelled spike in sales earlier this year, forecasting the business would grow by 20% over the next year.
Along with the quarter-zip sweater, the gilet has become synonymous with corporate, perhaps particularly banker, attire. “It’s such a specific item of clothing that people really recognise and associate with that industry of banker bros,” said style and culture writer and editor TJ Sidhu. Sometimes padded, sometimes wool, sometimes microfleece – those by the brand Patagonia are particularly popular – they are a singular garment, so it makes sense as a symbol that people can latch on to; more visually grabby than a suit or shirt.
“It’s almost come to represent banking style now and sort of become a bit of a parody,” says one graduate working in banking in London who asked to remain anonymous. In one viral TikTok video by the clothing brand Reiss, which has more than 3m views, a flashmob pretending to be finance bros dance to Man in Finance, each one clad in identical gilets.
But for those working in the industry, said the graduate, “we’re not part of the parody. This is what we were wearing before that trend kicked off and we’ll continue to wear it after it.”
The appeal for him is that, above all else, it is practical, 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 off and put it away in your bag.”
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Part of its dominance in recent years is down to office attire becoming more casual, post-pandemic. With the rise of working from home, gilets became one sartorial answer to the requirement to be smart, at least bellybutton up, for Zoom calls, but at the same time a bit cosier, to reflect that you weren’t in fact within 10 metres of a photocopier. Now, even back in the office, the gilet’s less formal aesthetic is a nod to a continued softening of what is deemed acceptable office attire.
In industries like banking, Sidhu said, people tend to favour uniformity in style. For men, he added, “I think it really gives them a sense of belonging.” He likens it to spaces such as football terraces and pubs “where we see these kind of specific items of clothing”.
Whether or not Industry, as well as its spot in the social media limelight, will boost gilet sales outside the Square Mile remains to be seen. Might the sleeveless garment even begin to garner kudos in the fashion industry? “Never say never,” said Sidhu.
“In the past decade or so we have seen so many trends come and go that we never thought were going to be, quote unquote, fashionable.” He points to Crocs – there are many examples of “‘ugly’ clothing somehow making it into the zeitgeist”.
Perhaps if some fruitier options became available, it might be different. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a banker bro wearing a patterned one, [or] one in a nice juicy colour,” he said.
With the so-called “corpcore” trend giving us a fresh take on the usual 9-to-5 attire, perhaps gilets will be the next item to be given a Gen Z twist. “In the right hands, the banker bro-ish gilet could be subverted, potentially, to quite stylish effect.”