North Korea has outlawed leather trench coats because its leader, Kim Jong-Un, does not want citizens dressing up like him.
The coat, which Kim first wore in 2019, quickly gained popularity among North Korea's elite, who desired to demonstrate their devotion to the Supreme Leader and could afford genuine leather.
Radio Free Asia has reported that young men wearing leather trench coats have been banned outright, with police scouring the streets to grab the jackets from civilians and vendors alike.
The news agency said the clampdown was launched after people began imitating Kim Jong Un's style.
A source told RFA that leather coats became known as a symbol of authority, prompting apparel retailers to begin importing fake leather to replicate Kim's wardrobe style.
"Young males object, claiming they paid for the coats themselves and see no reason to take them away," a sourced claimed.
Fashion police have reportedly been sent to shut down merchants selling them and remove them from customers, on concerns that they detract from Kim's appearance and weaken his authority.
North Korean police stated that wearing clothing fashioned to resemble the Highest Dignity's is an 'impure trend' intended to undermine the Highest Dignity's authority.
The police have warned the public not to wear leather coats, the source said, because it is part of the party's "directive to determine who can wear them."
While the majority of North Korea's 25 million citizens cannot afford anything more than the most basic clothing, leather jackets reminiscent of the country's all-powerful dictator have become the go-to fashion in Pyongyang and other cities where members of the ruling Workers' Party's upper rank live and work.
RFA, a U.S. government-funded news organization with vast sources in North Korea, disclosed that purchasing genuine leather in North Korea is prohibitively expensive, with cowhide coats costing approximately $34. Those made of synthetic leather cost about half as much, around $16.
The RFA added that counterfeit replicas of the coat initially appeared in September, following the reopening of illegal commerce between China and North Korea following a suspension during the COVID-19 crisis.
The crackdown comes as Kim approaches the 10th anniversary of his ascension to power following his long-ruling father's death on December 17, 2011.
Although Kim Jong Un's tailoring team has never been publicly identified, their style has been replicated throughout North Korea, either at factories in the country or smuggled across the Yalu or Tumen River borders from China.
