Zara has released six bomber jackets for this autumn, and the logic behind them is simpler than any fashion column cares to admit: you want a few more weeks of short sleeves without freezing. The bomber solves that because it is short, light and does not demand to be part of some bigger plan.

Prices run from 35.95 to 59.95 euros. The most expensive are the two leather ones - one with a grained texture in chocolate brown, the other a biker cut, black, with a diagonal zip and visible metal studs. The knitted one with a high collar and wrap fastening costs 35.95 and comes in red and burgundy. The checked model at 49.95 is in a Prince of Wales pattern, with a water-repellent finish and adjustable cuffs. The suede one at 45.95 has a belt in the same fabric. The cheapest, with polka dots, is 39.95.

What no product description mentions is that the bomber is an eighties cut that comes back periodically and will never be new. That is good news, not bad. Something that returns every few years means it will not hang in your wardrobe as evidence of one specific season.

Here, where half a wardrobe is bought by calculating how many years it will last, that matters more than the texture. The brown leather one will look the same next autumn, and the one after that. The polka-dot one probably will not.

Do six models on one rail mean six different ideas? No. They mean one idea in six materials - and that is exactly what the big chains do best. Pick one, wear it for five years, and the whole collection suddenly makes sense.