Object Lessons is a series of short beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of
ordinary things. We think we know the trench coat but where does it come from and where will
it take us? From its origins in the trenches of WW1 this military outerwear came to project
the inner-being of detectives writers reporters rebels artists and intellectuals. The coat
outfitted imaginative leaps into the unknown. Trench Coat tells the story of seductive
entanglements with technology time law politics trust and trespass. Readers follow the rise
of a sartorial archetype through media design literature cinema and fashion. Today as a
staple in stories of future life-worlds the trench coat warns of disturbances to come. Object
Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.
