"Palantir launched its latest merch drop, including a denim chore coat. Rugged utility, enduring style reads the website's description of the $239 (175) jacket, which is branded with the company's logo on the chest pocket and comes in blue or black. Eliano Younes, the head of strategic engagement at Palantir, told the New York Times that it was part of the company's commitment to re-industrializing America the jacket is made in Montana and recalls workwear of a previous era."
"It's not political, he added. It's about people who love Palantir and are aligned with our mission. Never mind that this mission includes aiding the Trump administration's deportation drive and Israel's devastating assault in Gaza, not to mention publishing a creepy militaristic manifesto: the 420 jackets for sale were gone within a matter of hours. There's no accounting for taste, it seems."
"Once niche, the durable, versatile French worker's jacket and other variations known loosely as chore coats has become almost ubiquitous over the past two decades. Made from cotton twill or moleskin, it emerged in France after the first world war, when rapid industrialisation meant the growing number of labourers needed durable coats that were practical in the workplace."
"Given that chore coats have been embraced by fashion brands across the price spectrum and worn by celebrities including Monty Don and Harry Styles, they have long since gone beyond their utilitarian underpinning. Indeed, they have become perhaps the defining signifier of a casually alternative taste, which makes them an appealing proxy for tech firms keen to be seen as cool, fun and tasteful. As one style commentator said of Palantir's jackets, they need cultural capital to be perceived as acceptable in the zeitgeist."
Palantir launched a merch drop featuring a $239 denim chore coat in blue or black, branded with the company logo on the chest pocket and made in Montana. The jacket was described as rugged, utility-focused, and reminiscent of earlier workwear, tied to a commitment to re-industrializing America. The company framed the purchase as non-political, aimed at people aligned with its mission. The jackets sold out within hours, despite controversy around the mission and related activities. Chore coats originated in France after World War I as durable workplace outerwear for industrial laborers, later spreading through fashion and celebrity culture. They became a marker of alternative casual taste, making them attractive to tech firms seeking mainstream cultural credibility.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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