It’s taken me years to find a chore coat with a cut that flatters my big tits but, now that I finally own one, I want to incinerate it.

Such is the power of brand contamination; infamous data surveillance megacorp Palantir, has decided to bang a logo on a chore coat to sell as corporate merch.

Chore coats are the traditional short denim or twill jacket of the 19th-century French working class. Palantir, however, is a company whose public words and commercial-in-confidence activities are inspiring local calls to have its contracts cancelled and its business banned.

The gentle French garment is now as cursed as whatever “Marie Amazonette” will ever wear to the Met Gala.

According to the New York Times, Palantir’s head of strategic engagement wanted to create a merch offering “that wasn’t a bland corporate polo or vest”. Thus the veste de travail, with its convenient pockets and famous styling on the likes of Paul Newman and Jeremy Allen White became the latest cultural victim of a company with a $325bn market capitalisation and whose chief executive’s favourite motto is “Dominate”.

The NYT reports in-house strategic engagers used to deferentially emblazon this word on hoodies and T-shirts before they decided to ruin my coat. This seems to be effective labelling for one reason, and that is knowing immediately who to avoid in a bar.

Let me........

© The Guardian