Ct is undoubtedly one of the most cult scenes in cinema, with all due respect to movie buffs. In Love Actually (2003), by Richard Curtis, Mark, played by Andrew Lincoln, is desperate. The woman he loves, Juliet (Keira Knightley), has just discovered that he has feelings for her, even though she is married… to his best friend. The star of this romantic imbroglio is, however, neither Juliet nor Mark, but rather the latter’s sweater, a wide striped model with a zipper that stops in the middle of the torso, which Mark pulls up again. a quick gesture before going to drown his sorrow in the streets of London.
This knitted piece, better known as the trucker sweater, is so famous that there are even forums dedicated to the famous “Zip scene” where enthusiasts exchange addresses to find a similar model. It doesn’t take much for a piece of clothing to become a wardrobe classic.
The trucker sweater didn’t wait for the release of Love Actually to find its place in men’s wardrobes. If the date of his birth remains approximate – it is said to have appeared at the same time as the zipper, its distinctive sign, in the mid-1930s –, its usefulness is not up for debate. This model, quarter zipper sweater among the Anglo-Saxons, first dressed winter sports enthusiasts. Cut from wool then fleece, it allows you to stay warm since, once fully zipped, its wide collar covers the neck, or even part of the face. And vice versa, when you need to get some fresh air without completely undressing.
Preppy aura
Like many sportswear items, it ended up being diverted from its primary purpose, becoming part of everyday men’s wardrobes. It then takes on a preppy aura, thanks to men whose elegance we copy. Like Gene Kelly, who, off set, happily puts on a white or striped zipped sweatshirt, or Richard Gere in American Gigolo, by Paul Schrader (1980), very attractive in a pastel pink model slipped under a tweed blazer.
More recently, it has been adopted by “mighty men”, as noted by Guardian in 2023 : “ Collars with a small zipper running from neck to chest have become the new status symbol for men of a certain position abandoning the shirt and tie aesthetic. » Citing, among his followers, the former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the football star David Beckham and even Harry, Duke of Sussex. Definitely transforming the trucker sweater into a power outfit.
