Rick Owens Fisherman Tabard – Pale Blue Wool

A tabard is one of the oldest garment forms there is, a panel front and back joined at the shoulders and left open down the sides, worn over other clothes rather than instead of them. It predates tailored outerwear by centuries and it survives because it solves a problem nothing else solves: it adds warmth across the torso without adding anything at all to the arm.

This one is knitted in wool, with a slit at the back neck and open slits at the hem, so it moves rather than hanging as a slab. The reference is the fisherman's sweater, which is where heavy knitted work clothing comes from, and the pale blue keeps it from reading as costume. Wool is the honest fibre for it: springy, warm when damp, and structural enough to hold the flat panel shape a tabard needs.

It is an unusual object and people ask about it. It also does something practically useful, which is add a layer over a shirt or a fine knit without a sleeve to accommodate inside a jacket. We took it for the shape, and the colour is why we took this one rather than a black one.

One hundred percent wool, made in Italy. Colour: Pale Blue. Knitted tabard with a back neck slit and side slits at the hem.

A tabard has no sleeves and open sides, so sizing is a question of how much it covers rather than how it fits. It layers over a shirt or a fine knit and under outerwear, and because there is nothing at the arm it will go inside a jacket that a sweater would not. Wool of this weight relaxes slightly with wear and recovers when rested.

Over a fine black knit or a shirt, with a straight trouser. The open sides mean whatever is underneath shows at the ribs, so that layer is part of the outfit rather than hidden by it.

Fold it, never hang it. Wool wants washing rarely: air it between wearings, and when it needs it, hand wash in lukewarm water with a neutral wool detergent and dry flat. Our care guidance covers wool in detail.

Alongside it, the Long Wrap and the Maglia Cropped Crater Knit. In the same pale blue, the Turtle Coat and the Giacca In Pelle Hollywood. There is more on the house on the Rick Owens designer page. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.