Prada’s wardrobe-imploding, algorithm-busting spring 2025 collection hit the runway last September, and I’ve been thinking about one look in particular ever since—a short grass green suede jacket with covered buttons and a Peter Pan collar, worn with baggy black jeans tucked into worn-in white cowboy boots. It wasn’t the show’s most innovative look nor was it the most beautiful, but there was something real about the way it was put together. After thinking about it (and thinking about it, and thinking about it), I came around to the idea that I needed a little green jacket, something devastating yet low-key that could transform any outfit. Further proof of the piece’s essential status was the version that also appeared in Prada’s menswear collection: a smock coat with slightly cropped sleeves in an emerald color.
Now I keep seeing little green jackets everywhere I look. On the fall 2025 runways, there was a mid-length minimalist car coat with a hidden placket and slightly curved sleeves at Bally, an a-line cropped version in acid green at Gucci, and a satin shirt-jacket with a fur collar at Prabal Gurung. Even classic tailoring got extra oomph from the unexpected shade. At Tom Ford, Haider Ackermann paired a neon-mint suit jacket with brown trousers, and at Lanvin, Peter Copping turned to a velvet in pine green.
In a way, the little green jacket is the next logical step after the classic olive green barn jacket rose to It-status (also thanks to Prada, it’s worth saying). Then again, it’s almost a reaction against the utilitarian barn jacket, especially when it comes in a shade of green that doesn’t fade into the background. Think of it as anti-prescription dressing. It’s not about timelessness, it’s about what feels right for this exact minute: an indulgence or a scream. If, in the process, it turns into an all-time favorite in your closet, then the little green jacket has done its job.
