The Spanish department store that gave birth to Colombo’s raincoat: How Peter Falk got his hands on one of television’s most iconic garments

A stealthy creep between lurking spots behind cars and lampposts, a profound gaze and a ponderous voice that pauses to inhale and exhale cigarette smoke are just a few of the tropes tied to the figure of the detective in pop culture. And there’s yet another visual cue, this one sartorial, that automatically brings one to mind: the trench coat. The garment recalls elegant private eyes who break hearts and always have a gun on them. “The image of the trench-coated detective was established in the golden age of Hollywood and film noir by characters played by actors like Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon,” say EL PAÍS’s sources at the Spanish fashion retailer Tendam, formerly known as Grupo Cortefiel. But there was another agent, perhaps a tad less distinguished and enigmatic, who has also earned a place in the collective ideology while dressed in the mid-season cover-up: Lieutenant Colombo. His trench was never perfectly ironed, a manifestation of the carelessness that seemed to characterize the man — but only seemed, mind you, given that he always managed to solve the mysteries that arose, no matter how complex.

Indeed, the garment was a representation of his essence, and curiously, Colombo’s iconic and disheveled coat actually belonged to the actor who played him, Peter Falk, and was made by Cortefiel. This was confirmed in an article published by EL PAÍS in 1995, which stated that Gonzalo Hinojosa, CEO and owner of Cortefiel at the time, announced its providence.

“Colombo is a very iconic character, in part thanks to his accessories: the car, the dog, his cigar and above all, his trench coat. Each one of these elements adds up to tell us about the lieutenant’s seemingly clueless and clumsy personality, though he is much more intelligent and intuitive than his mannerisms let on,” explains Fernando de Córdoba (@gamusinogram), branding expert and author of Los secretos de las marcas: una guía de branding para gente que no sabe que es el branding (Brand secrets: a guide to branding for people who don’t know what branding is) and of this Twitter thread on Colombo’s coat.

The story behind how this garment became one of television history’s most iconic began years back, in 1880. That was the year a small shop on a street in downtown Madrid opened its doors. In 1926, it became one of the famous Almacenes Quiros, a multi-brand shop that set a standard for the capital’s residents. One of its offerings was Cortefiel, which provided fashion for gentlemen with the help of its vanguard advertising campaign: “They used very modern marketing techniques for the time, like representing the brand’s personality with Maese Cortefiel, an illustrated character in the style of a medieval tailor,” says de Córdoba.

Through this potent combination of branding strategy and elegant ensembles for the well-heeled man, the brand rose to national success and eventually, decided to cross the pond. In the 1950s, Cortefiel became the first Spanish fashion brand to export clothes to the United States. So says Lucía del Valle Montero, director of communications for Brands of Spain, who believes that the leap represented a major milestone for the company, at a time in which Spain was largely closed to the outer world: “Cortefiel was a pioneering firm in that sense and it helped it to diversify as well as grow and position itself as an internationally renowned brand. Being in the North American country’s great department stores was a symbol of how the Cortefiel products measured up to high standards of quality and design, allowing it to compete in a market as demanding as that of the United States.”

According to Tendam sources, at the time, the brand was synonymous with the kind of sophistication that was valued by those who appreciated its attention to detail: “The brand has a timeless, cosmopolitan style, with an emphasis on European design and quality. That style got attention in Spain, but also in the United States, thanks to its ability to combine classic European elegance with a modern and contemporary touch.”

How it got to Peter Falk

“Falk had bought it shortly before shooting the series’ pilot, on a rainy day in 1967. Soon after, they offered him the leading role and, while looking for elements that would lend to the character, he came up with the idea of using it,” says de Córdoba. But why did he choose his trench coat, and how did he come across the garment? He likely bought it at Macy’s or Saks, which were the two great New York department stores at the time, and which stocked Cortefiel. In fact, the actor who played Colombo was far from the brand’s only famous U.S. customer: “Kirk Douglas and presidents Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson also bought the brand’s trench coats. The items were a luxury in the United States in the 1970s,” say sources from Tendam. “According to company accounts that remain from that era, it seems that in Spain, we learned that the trench coat actually belonged to Peter Falk himself through interviews and anecdotes the actor shared with people who were close to the series’ production. Falk bought it out of personal preference, without knowing that soon after, the famous trench coat would become a distinctive element of his character in particular, and 1970s television in general,” they add.

Unexpectedly, the garment became an amusing look for a figure who, despite being a detective, did not match up with the characteristics traditionally associated with the profession. His trench coat, instead of being perfectly cinched at the waist as it had been for the strait-laced officers who’d come before, only fed into Colombo’s chaotic image. Despite his cunning and intelligence, Colombo was not at first glance what one would call intimidating. He traveled in a Peugeot 403 and never seemed aware of the world around him. Criminals underestimated the guy and felt safe from danger. But at the last moment, just when he seemed satisfied with a suspect’s lies, he would utter his famous “just one more thing,” followed up by a barrage of compromising details and tell-tale clues. He always got to the heart of the matter and, of course, collared the crook. After all, that trench coat was exactly like the man himself: apparently, a mess, but at the end of the day, it carried out its job to a tee.

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