Do you want a leather jacket? Not if you’re in North Korea

I must admit, there are news stories that truly leave you speechless. The first time I read that Kim Jong-un had banned his fellow citizens from wearing black leather jackets, I thought I must have misunderstood. No, it’s not a joke. We’re talking about the classic leather biker jacket, the kind that even Fonzie wore in Happy Days. Yet, in North Korea, this item has become a symbol of absolute power: only the Supreme Leader can wear it. The rest of the country? Banned! Can we even comprehend that? In a place where freedom of expression is already non-existent, there’s now no freedom to choose a jacket.

In a regime like North Korea’s, where everything is controlled—from the food you eat to the TV programmes you watch—fashion also becomes a battleground for dominance. In 2021, North Korea produced 1.4 million tonnes of plastic waste, yet Kim is more concerned with ensuring that no one else dares to wear his jacket. Perhaps because, in his world, uniformity and control extend right into the wardrobe. And so, while the rest of the world grapples with more serious crises, in North Korea, you can find yourself under sanction for a fashion item.

Kim Jong-un’s black leather jacket is not just a piece of clothing; it is a statement of absolute power. The glossy leather and severe cut seem to scream “domination” from every fibre. And no, it’s not just a matter of style; it’s about authority: no one else is worthy of wearing it. In the collective imagination, this jacket has become a symbol of totalitarian control. It’s almost as if it were created to say, “I command, and I do so even through what I wear!”

And us? We’re here, on the other side of the world, chuckling at this absurdity. Of course, we can treat it as a fashion curiosity, an anomaly in the vast world of clothing, but for those living in North Korea, it’s just another example of how power permeates every aspect of life, even down to what you can (or cannot) wear.

Kim Jong-un’s jacket is not merely an article of clothing; it is yet another demonstration of his iron fist. An untouchable garment, reserved for one man, just like the power he wields over his people. And while we indulge in the luxury of joking about it, perhaps pondering which unique piece to flaunt on our next outing, there lies a jacket that represents much more than a simple outfit. Maybe it’s time to consider that, after all, there is something worse than not being able to wear the trendiest item of the moment: the complete lack of freedom to choose what to wear.