Paddington Bear Calls His Duffle Coat ‘In Vogue’ as He Shares Fashion Tips and Celebrates Immigrant Success

Paddington Bear has declared his iconic blue duffle coat ‘in vogue’ while sharing fashion and style advice in a new interview.

The loveable character and British institution, who recently made his West End debut in his own musical, after 29 book and three film appearances, took time away from the stage to chat with British Vogue in the Royal Suite of London’s Savoy Hotel. 

As well as deconstructing his outfit, the glossy magazine lauded the loveable bear as the poster boy for ‘immigrants making good’  following his move to London from darkest Peru.

In a clip shared to Instagram Paddington was asked about his opinion of this season’s fashions, to which he replied: ‘Being winter, everyone is wearing coats and hats.’

‘I was told that British designers think duffle coats are very much in vogue, which I hear is a very good thing to be’.

When it comes to British style Paddington’s said due to the UK’s weather, he loved raincoats, umbrellas and wellington boots, which he branded both practical and stylish. 

Meanwhile the magazine praised the character for being ‘inclusive, culturally diverse and accepting’, far removed from toxic ‘flag-sh*****g’ Britons who wanted to stop the boats. 

For any fashion lovers hoping to replicate Paddington’s style he later went on to reveal just where he picked up both his unique look.

‘Well, my hat is very special because it belonged to the explorer Montgomery Clyde. He came to Peru a long time ago and was very kind to my Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo,’

‘So when I came to London, I was hoping to find him. And my coat belonged to [Paddington’s adoptive father] Mr Brown, then [adoptive brother] Jonathan and then they kindly gave it to me’.

Last week, the Princess of Wales said George, Charlotte, and Louis would be jealous that she and Prince William had a meet and greet with Paddington at the Royal Variety performance. 

William and Catherine, both 43, joined an array of stars like Jessie J, Matt Lucas and host Jason Manford at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which senior members of the Royal Family take turns to support.

Among this year’s cast was the world-famous Paddington, whom both Catherine and William were particularly taken with. The future King even remarked on the bear’s ‘yummy’ sandwich.

‘Can I shake your hand? Your sandwich looks very nice,’ William asked the bear. ‘The way you were singing was totally incredible.’ And as Paddington tipped his hat, William beamed, pointing to his sandwich and saying: ‘It looks very yummy.’

However, it was before the annual charity event, when Kate told nine-year-old Emelie and Olivia Edwards, who handed the royal a stunning posy of winter-themed flowers, that her children would be sad not to have seen beloved Paddington. 

Bending down to speak to the twins in a green velvet evening gown, the Princess called the flowers ‘sweet’ while asking the girls if they were excited about the night ahead and if they were Paddington fans.  

Nodding, Catherine told them: ‘My kiddies will be very sad [to have missed the show], we are going to have to keep it a big secret.’

Bringing her finger to her lips, she added: ‘They were very sad not to be joining us.’

Paddington, which was first published in 1958, has seen a number of adaptations over the years, including a BBC TV version in 1976, voiced by the late Sir Michael Hordern.

The recent movies, released in 2014, 2017 and 2024, have all sky rocketed at the box office.

The new musical featuring music from McFly’s Tom Fletcher the small bear from Peru as he lands in London where a chance encounter with the Brown family leads to him finding a new home. 

Ahead of the show’s debut, hitmaker and children’s author Tom said he was ‘honoured’ to be trusted with the new gig.

He said: ‘It’s an honour to be entrusted to bring the story of Paddington to life on stage with the very best of creative collaborators in (playwright) Jessica (Swale), (theatre director) Luke (Sheppard), and our producers Sonia (Friedman) and Eliza (Lumley).

‘This unique and special bear is at the very heart of our nation, and I’m aware of the awesome responsibility we all have in taking on his story.

See the full feature in the January issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 16 December.