A pop culture icon, the scourge of society, a design staple or simply something to keep us warm. Whatever the ‘hoodie' is, one thing's for certain; it's become the centre of debates nationwide. Once innocently known as a ‘hooded-top', today this most inoffensive and popular article of clothing has created a socioeconomic divide that has film directors and fashion houses drooling as ASBO-hit urban Britain apparently falls into decline at the hands of hooded youngsters.

At a stretch, you could say the design dates back to the Middle Ages, where monks wore a long hood as part of their formal robes, however it wasn't until the 1930s that the benefits of an all-in-one torso and head warmer became apparent. In the frozen warehouses of New York's Meatpacking District, the Champion hoodie became the outerwear of choice for the low paid workers, before the simple zip-up design took off via designers across the country. Maintaining its popularity amongst the working classes, it was the onset of hip hop in the 70s which really saw this piece of sportswear become synonymous with pop culture. The level of anonymity it afforded hip hop gangs, as well as the rise in skating and surfing at that time too, meant that the hoodie spread through America's youth like wildfire. Naturally college sports teams started producing their own hoodies and from there it wasn't long before the preppy fashion houses of Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger jumped onboard too.

So why has this wardrobe staple recently become an iconic symbol of ‘Broken Britain'? The popularity of them amongst subcultures and class-defined gangs has lead to the wearers being termed ‘hoodies', rather than the jumper itself. It was this catch-all term for dysfunctional youths that started the media salivation, which even went as far as David Cameron giving the famous ‘hug a hoodie' speech, which aimed to inform Britons of how misunderstood hoodies actually are.

Unfortunately it has become increasingly unlikely that the gangster image associated with the jumper is going to go away anytime soon, thanks to the movies. Just as black suits and sunglasses became the de rigueur gangster attire after Tarantino had his way, British filmmakers are mining the working-class hoodie subculture dry. Films like Eden Lake, The Disappeared and Michael Cain's latest offering, Harry Brown, all relish in the unpredictable, ultra-violent and wholly nihilistic opportunities that stereotyping young urban British characters affords them.

So as an article of clothing, whether or not hoodies perpetuate the thug life or just offer a simple and well designed warm layer is open to debate, but just don't expect them to go away anytime soon.