The knickerbocker was a fashion item briefly in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In keeping with the more general trend for unisex dressing it was a fashion item promoted for both men and women by international couturiers such as Pierre Cardin and here in New Zealand it was channelled by Colin Cole when he flirted briefly with a foray into menswear design. While men were becoming more flamboyant in their fashion choices this sartorial statement may have been a step too far for those less adventurous than Geoffrey Bailey who purchased this suit from Colin Cole in the early 1970s. Without this suit any recording of Colin Cole's menswear line may have disappeared without a trace. Read more about 1970s fashion in the New Zealand Fashion Museum publication The Age of Aquarius: A 70s Revolution in Fashion.