The varsity jacket trend and the return of American aesthetics The symbol of the archival fashion trend

During this Milan Fashion Week, one item in particular has become recurrent both in the presentations of the brands and on the street, worn by fashion insiders who have invaded the city these days: it is the varsity jacket - an item that, while enjoying uninterrupted popularity from the 50s to today, this year has become a go-to of the season after appearing,  at the beginning of last year, in numerous different collections, and especially in the Louis Vuitton FW21. You want a little for its nostalgic American college aura, you want a little for the cult of vintage and archival clothes, the varsity jacket appeared this year on the catwalk of the Boss x Russell Athletic show on a baseball field, as a flagship product of the Ghali x Benetton collection and also worn by members of the fashion show audience,  captured in our reportages in Milan, London and Paris.

Today, the passion for archival fashion that has made millions of fashion enthusiasts rediscover Raf Simons' bomber jackets for collections like Riot! Riot! Riot! and Virginia Creeper as well as the passion for vintage fueled both by the need for more sustainable consumption and by the growing search for realness in fashion (ie a style that does not necessarily depend on hype) has led to the return in vogue of style, its graphics and its maximalist and imaginative lettering. A comeback that was also supported by the flowering of numerous Instagram pages and digital shops / showrooms dedicated to the recovery of vintage and archival garments such as @silverleague, @unsdoundrags and @middleman.store or, in Italy, @archiviofuorviante and @cocci.it who have created around varsity, as well as around western boots, workwear suits and Letterman sweatshirts, an entire culture of study and deepening but,  above all, of worship.