Burberry recreates garments from Ernest Shackleton's polar expedition

British heritage brand Burberry has recreated the gabardine outerwear worn by Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew during his 1914 polar expedition to support the National Geographic documentary ‘Endurance’.

The documentary, directed by award-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin and Natalie Hewit, premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and tells Shackleton’s heroic tale of survival after his ship Endurance became trapped in pack ice before sinking in Antarctica.

To bring Shackleton’s voyage to life, the documentary team recreated the conditions in which the crew journeyed across the Antarctic by commissioning ten replicas of the garments created by Burberry for Shackleton and his crew.

The lightweight Burberry ensemble comprised an anorak, trousers and hood made with gabardine, a rain and weather-resistant fabric invented by Thomas Burberry in 1879. They were designed to enable movement and would have been worn in windy and snowy conditions with layers of knitwear beneath. Burberry also notes that they were made in green so that the ensemble was “soothing for the eyes in snow landscapes”.

Ruth Johnston, producer for the documentary, said in a statement: “I called Burberry soon after production began as they’re integral to this story. Shackleton’s men were wearing Thomas Burberry’s material, gabardine, and they wouldn’t have survived without it.

“Burberry agreed to make outfits from the original pattern and material for our recreations. In below-freezing temperatures in Iceland, the mountain guides who played the expedition crew were amazed at how well Burberry worked. It also was useful for us to have the original material at hand when it came to colour-treating the Burberry outfits, which are frequent in Hurley’s footage!’

Two of the gabardine outfits will be on display at the brand’s Regent Street flagship store until October 31.