DAMSON MADDER FOUNDER EMMA HILL COMBINES FUNCTION & FRIVOLITY

Designing outerwear for women is a pretty thankless task. Too often, the pieces that look the part, with the flattering cut, nice detailing, and the seasonal colour offer only enough protection to take on a chilly breeze. Meanwhile, the jackets built to withstand a proper downpour can be boxy, engineered to oblivion, and hard to style with anything but technical trousers and hiking boots. Finding a coat that does both jobs can feel like wishful thinking.

Damson Madder, however, has cracked the code. The brand first made its name with reversible puffers and the Jerry trench, but it's the Matilda jacket that has become a true cult favourite, regularly selling out and fuelling waves of restock alerts. Fully waterproof, with taped seams, a peaked hood and elasticated sleeves, it comes with a gingham finish that extends right down to the taping and toggles, plus a waist channel that leaves the silhouette up to the wearer.

To find out more about how the label decoded one of the toughest dilemmas in womenswear, we found some time with founder Emma Hill to find out how it's done. Emma tells us what the industry still gets wrong about women's outerwear, where the brand finds its inspiration, and what makes the Matilda jacket so good.

Damson Madder outerwear is a bit of a phenomenon. When did you first realise you'd tapped into something bigger than a single hit product?

It all started with our now signature reversible puffer jackets. True to Damson Madder’s design ethos, we always try to make garments with added value to our customers and the puffers we launched for the first time for AW23—and continue to release to this day—are fully reversible; so you get two winter jackets in one.

That success was compounded by the launch of our Jerry trench. Again, we wanted to create an outerwear piece with a lot to offer, so it not only came with the tie-up scarf but could also be worn in either a check or a plain colour to suit the wearer’s mood. When Jerry took off, we knew we were onto something with outerwear and managed to carry that success forward with our rain and showerproof pieces, which have become brand icons.

The Matilda Jacket in particular has a cult following. What do you think is driving that demand?

I think our customers want a jacket that is both practical and cute, and Matilda offers both! The quality is also great, as are all the design details, which make the jacket really special and unique.

In terms of the design process for the Matilda, what was the starting point, and how many iterations did it go through before you landed on the final silhouette?

We wanted a jacket where every detail was gingham, not just the fabric but the taping and the toggles too, and we were thrilled when our factory delivered the first sample with all the gingham features. We also wanted to make sure the jacket was fully waterproof, so we added practical features like taped seams, a peaked hood, and elasticated sleeves. Adding the waist channel lets you alter the silhouette, so you can wear Matilda straight or cinched depending on how you want to style it. Most of the rainwear I have owned is unisex, so it lacks cute, feminine details and it felt really exciting to add those elements to our jackets so they were both practical and feminine.

Outerwear is notoriously hard to get right for women. What do you think the industry still gets wrong about women's coats and jackets?

I think the industry might be afraid to make something that is both practical and fashionable. Perhaps there’s an attitude that making an outerwear piece more playful through colour or feminine design details makes it less utilitarian and therefore somehow frivolous. I think outerwear can be serious and frivolous at the same time!

Have you noticed that the women’s outerwear scene has changed in recent years? How?

I think more women’s clothing brands have been partnering with true outerwear brands to create collections, and these collaborations have been highly sought after, which has made us realise our customers want pieces that not only look great but also have technical and practical features. We also see a trend towards wearing something on a hike that can also be worn to work or out to dinner. It’s a trend towards a more technical-looking garment that can be styled to look cool with many different outfits.

When you're designing, who are you picturing wearing the piece? How much of the Matilda's success comes from understanding a specific customer versus designing something you wanted to wear yourselves?

The design team very much design pieces we want to wear. We all owned rain wear that was a bit too serious and solely practical in nature so we wanted to create a jacket that had it all: function and frivolity combined!

In terms of the design process for the Matilda, what was the starting point, and how many iterations did it go through before you landed on the final silhouette?

We wanted a jacket where every detail was gingham, not just the fabric but the taping and the toggles too, and we were thrilled when our factory delivered the first sample with all the gingham features. We also wanted to make sure the jacket was fully waterproof, so we added practical features like taped seams, a peaked hood, and elasticated sleeves. Adding the waist channel lets you alter the silhouette, so you can wear Matilda straight or cinched depending on how you want to style it. Most of the rainwear I have owned is unisex, so it lacks cute, feminine details and it felt really exciting to add those elements to our jackets so they were both practical and feminine.

Outerwear is notoriously hard to get right for women. What do you think the industry still gets wrong about women's coats and jackets?

I think the industry might be afraid to make something that is both practical and fashionable. Perhaps there’s an attitude that making an outerwear piece more playful through colour or feminine design details makes it less utilitarian and therefore somehow frivolous. I think outerwear can be serious and frivolous at the same time!

Have you noticed that the women’s outerwear scene has changed in recent years? How?

I think more women’s clothing brands have been partnering with true outerwear brands to create collections, and these collaborations have been highly sought after, which has made us realise our customers want pieces that not only look great but also have technical and practical features. We also see a trend towards wearing something on a hike that can also be worn to work or out to dinner. It’s a trend towards a more technical-looking garment that can be styled to look cool with many different outfits.

When you're designing, who are you picturing wearing the piece? How much of the Matilda's success comes from understanding a specific customer versus designing something you wanted to wear yourselves?

The design team very much design pieces we want to wear. We all owned rain wear that was a bit too serious and solely practical in nature so we wanted to create a jacket that had it all: function and frivolity combined!