After 100 years... How did men's tweed turn into a suit that female stars love?

British singer Dua Lipa caught attention in a tweed suit from the French house “Chanel” while attending the WSJ Awards. Magazine Innovator Awards 2026 in New York City, USA.

She chose a design from the high-end fashion collection for fall and winter 2026, characterized by prominent floral embroideries, beaded details, and black fringes at the collar and sleeves. The look was completed with a black hat with striking details.

This look highlights one of the pieces most closely associated with Chanel's identity, the tweed suit that has transcended the boundaries of seasonal fashion to become part of the fashion house's legacy. Since the founder of the fashion house, Gabrielle Chanel, known as “Coco Chanel”, introduced this fabric to her designs in the 1920s, until consolidating the iconic features of the suit in the 1950s, the design has turned into a symbol of practical elegance, maintaining its presence for more than a century, with its shapes, materials, and methods of coordination changing over the decades.

The story of the tweed suit The tweed suit was not just an elegant design, but rather an extension of Coco Chanel's vision of liberating women's clothing from the restrictions imposed by traditional fashion. The designer was inspired by this fabric from British men's clothing, before repurposing it into women's designs that combine comfort, practicality and elegance.

Over time, the classic suit has become a feature of a short jacket with defined edges and a matching skirt, which is often accompanied by prominent buttons, pockets and elaborate details. The official website of the fashion house explains that tweed has become one of the most prominent symbols of Chanel’s style, as its presence was not limited to the suit, but rather extended to multiple pieces within its collections, with continuous experiments in colors, textures, and details.

Thus, the design maintained its basic identity, without remaining captive to a single form. Elegance that knows no age Over the years, the tweed suit has maintained its presence in the looks of stars and public figures, whether in its classic form consisting of a matching jacket and skirt, or in more liberal pieces.

Among those who chose this design was Australian actress Nicole Kidman, who appeared in it more than once, most recently while attending the Chanel Spring/Summer 2027 show during Paris Fashion Week. French model Charlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco, is also one of the celebrities most associated with this design, as she chose it on multiple occasions, including while attending the Spring/Summer 2024 collection show in Paris, in October 2023, where she appeared in a blue denim-like suit, consisting of a short jacket and wide pants, which reflected a modern reading of the classic suit.

The presence of the suit was not limited to stars from one generation, but also attracted young names who reintroduced it in styles consistent with the tastes of their generation. In March 2025, the South African singer Tayla appeared in a Chanel look during Paris Fashion Week, in which she presented a bolder reading of the tweed suit, with a short jacket and a very short skirt, which she coordinated with an off-the-shoulder corset top.

How did Matthew Blasey reinvent the tweed suit? With Matthew Blasi taking over the creative direction of the fashion house, the tweed suit entered a new phase of development, without abandoning its basic features.

In the spring and summer 2027 collection, the designer presented what he called “crushed tweed,” which is a more flexible and stretchable fabric that gives the pieces lightness and freedom of movement, unlike the traditional image of tweed as a cohesive material that maintains its shape. Blasi also reconsidered the way the suit itself was worn; Some jackets appeared without cuts underneath, while the cuts seemed more streamlined and less formal.

This approach reveals an attempt to balance preserving and developing Chanel's codes, so that the tweed suit remains true to its roots, without losing its ability to keep pace with transformations in the world of fashion.