The flagship material Chanel, has become the standard for a free and emancipated lifestyle. Coco drew inspiration from the English wardrobe of the Duke of Westminster.
How was Chanel Tweed born?
1924 – In Monte-Carlo, Coco meets the Duke of Westminster for the first time. He confessed much later: “This famous Coco appeared, and I was immediately seduced by her. The love at first sight was immediate. The most brilliant gentleman in the United Kingdom, the richest man in England, the gallant known for his sumptuous receptions and his big hunts, met for the first time the mischievous look of Gabrielle Chanel in the 20s.
By his side from 1924 to 1931, Coco traveled, discovered, and was inspired. For six years, during which the moors of Scotland where the duke hunts grouses, to the bridge of his yachts, from Ireland to the Carpathians via Heaton Hall, his castle; Gabrielle learns with the Duke the essence of the British style: elegance and comfort.
This lover, Chanel said of him that he is “simple like a tramp”, since he never wears anything new. In this very particular way that he has to pay little attention to the splendor of fashion, Chanel will retain simplicity. She soon brings it to light in her creations.
If the little black jacket has become the icon we recognize today, it is because it testifies to a love story, an inspiration, and ultimately, one of the designs common to the whole creation of the seamstress: draping the woman as simply as possible.
Widely dictated by the male wardrobe of the Duke of Westminster, Coco Chanel’s little black jacket has, over the years, become this universal piece which, under the fabric, accompanies a revolution.
In 1928, the couple retired to the Duke’s castle. This is where we see Mademoiselle for the first time with, on her shoulders, what can be considered her first tweed jacket. While staying in Scotland, the cold climate forced Chanel to borrow one of the Duke of Westminster’s jackets … a warm, soft and very comfortable coat. If the love story ends in 1931, Chanel do not forget to take as souvenirs the few pieces from her lover’s wardrobe – and the tweed.
1954, The Little Black Jacket And The Chanel Tweed
In 1954, the year the seamstress imagined the first version of the little black jacket, it was the famous tweed jacket that occupied her mind. Inspired by the Duke’s outfit, the tweed will impose a flexible and fluffy model.
That year, the front page of American Vogue was titled: “The new uniform for modern women. In this conjugation of the masculine to the feminine, post-war modernity takes shape.
A jacket that we like to call “the clothing expression of the century”. A jacket unlike any other. Chic at will, cheeky, the little Chanel jacket is, ultimately, the embodiment of the allure of the Parisienne.
Tweed becomes the echo of Chanel’s simplicity. Luxury and comfort, Coco Chanel has left a legacy of grammar so obvious that it almost becomes child’s play to revisit. And Karl Lagerfeld had fun. In 2014, snuggling at the Coco, he scrolled through a pair of sneakers (!!!) Cut in iconic tweed. The proof, if there was one, that tweed transcends fashion. Like the tweed suit, an object of infinite desire.
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