Does your wardrobe include a half-zip jumper and a flannel shirt? Is your fantasy car a vintage Land Rover Defender? Do you know a buff Cochin from a bantam hen? If the answer is yes, you may just be one of the style icons of the season: a Rich Autumn Dad.
The leader of this new style pack, known among fashion watchers as the “RADs”, is David Beckham, who this week was unveiled as guest editor of Country Life magazine. The former England football captain appears in the 100-year-old title in a variety of looks including a tweed blazer and corduroy trousers.
But while Beckham is pictured tending to a veg patch and beehives on his sprawling Cotswolds estate, his look could just as easily be found on a luxury catwalk or local high street.
British country attire is now being embraced by men of all ages who want to emulate old money style. They may not be rich. They may not be a dad. But they can still look like a RAD.
Jason Diamond, an author and cultural commentator, credits the look’s popularity to a rise in men caring more about their personal style. While suiting is still struggling to regain consumers’ undivided attention due to hybrid working, Diamond said there is more desire from some shoppers for “stuff that’s a little more adult”.
If gorpcore championed wearing outdoor gear in an urban environment, RADs are more about subtle functional pieces, adjacent to Beckham’s agricultural style. At the menswear shows there was a noticeable shift from oversized silhouettes and casual trainers to waxed jackets, neat tweed coats and smartly polished loafers. There are fears that a flat cap could be the next baseball.
For Esquire’s style director, Johnny Davis, there is a performative element to the trend. “It’s notable that Beckham credits Guy Ritchie, a pioneer of the cosplay-farmer look, as helping him fall “deeper in love” with the countryside. The photo of David together with Victoria in the field from that shoot is hilarious – they’re styled like they’re out of a Brunello Cucinelli ad as opposed to, say, anyone about to till the land.” Ritchie’s 2024 Netflix hit series The Gentlemen was an early instigator of the trend.
But then maybe the fantasy is part of the appeal. M&S is now selling pieces you’d usually find at expensive dedicated countryside outfitters, including twill chinos and waxed jackets. At John Lewis, an unofficial RAD mecca, searches for tweed jackets are up 300% since last week, while check coats have shot up 100%.
The retailer has launched a dedicated ‘Heritage’ category online in which cable-knit and fisherman’s jumpers are top performers. Zara’s winter edit includes striped rugby shirts and knitted vests, while at Reiss a brushed overshirt and a dogtooth-checked blazer are topping its bestseller list.
“Men are looking for stuff that’s a little more classic, but not formal,” Diamond says. “The country gentleman thing does a great job of combining stylish with just the right amount of rugged, but not too rugged that it’s not suitable for going out to dinner or a party. The Beckham photos sum up exactly what I mean because he’s in those nice, tailored shirts, but he’s also in wellies and he’s gardening. He’s getting his hands dirty, but it’s not exactly dirty work.”
Other RADs include the actor Jesse Plemons, who has been promoting his latest film Bugonia in an olive chore jacket, cuffed khakis and perfectly clean work boots, the former footballer Ian Wright, who favours cosy knits, selvedge denim and a baker boy cap and Josh O’Connor’s art thief in The Mastermind, who fools everyone by wearing cosy knitwear and a flat cap. See also Alan Carr on Celebrity Traitors in tweed blazers and an overshirt from the British brand Wax London.
A spokesperson for the secondhand clothing platform Depop credits the reality TV show for also fuelling searches for Barbour jackets (up 207% since July). Elsewhere, the actor Stanley Tucci is leaning into his RAD aesthetic, teaming up with the 89-year-old London cashmere brand N Peal on a collection. Bestsellers include a half-zip jumper and a multi-pocketed field jacket.
So what’s fuelling the fetishisation now? For Diamond, the countryside look is a “rebellion against being too plugged in”. Davis also credits the romanticism of a more analogue time. “The British pastoral ideal feels like escape – slow, rooted and tactile,” he says. “There’s comfort in the imagery of fields, dogs and old tweed when everything else feels digital and precarious.”
How to look like a Rich Autumn Dad (even if you’re on a budget)
Half-zip jumper, £69, John Lewis
Barbour jacket, £95, Vintage Folk
Boots, £175, Blundstone
Vintage rugby shirt, £50, Rokit
Wool vest, £65, Arket
Texture chore jacket, £80, M&S
Tweed dog coat, from £19.95, Harris tweed Isle of Harris
Enamel mug, £12.95, Falcon
Socks, £16, Cordings
