North Korea has banned people from wearing leather trench coats after the fashion item became a favourite of dictatorial ruler Kim Jong-un, it has been claimed. 

First worn by Kim in 2019, the coat became popular among the North Korean elite who were keen to show their loyalty to the Supreme Leader and who could afford real leather. 

But recently, knock-off imitations have proliferated and fashion police have now been deployed to shut down merchants selling them and take them off people amid fears it cheapens Kim's look and undermines his authority.