In a world driven by trends and technology, it isn’t often that an old-school material such as tweed grabs the fashion headlines. However, in 2004, tweed made a huge impact on the catwalk. Tweed jackets, tweed suits, tweed overcoats, tweed skirts – the fabric was everywhere, in every colour and played a part in most leading seasonal fashion collections launched since then. It’s fair to say that tweed has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts – appearing in the couture collections of a number of leading designers, such as Burberry, Chanel and Aquascutum.
The fabric itself was first woven in the UK as a heavy, durable material. Popularised in the 1890s when it was first used in tailor-made clothing for women, tweed has played an ongoing role in the development of truly British fashion. Tweed manufacturers in the UK include Harris, Linton and Bernat Klein – all three firms have a rich heritage of weaving the fabric from traditional materials while embracing the passion of artisans to make their tweeds unique and suitable for a host of different purposes. Today, tweed is used to make suits, jackets, coats, trousers and a wide variety of accessories for men, women and children.
Originally used in cloaks and ‘country’ wear, Coco Chanel brought tweed to the world’s fashionistas in the 1950s and 60s when she first turned her hand to modernising the fabric and released a collection of fashionable tweed suits. The suits were simple, the tweeds she chose were paired with fine wools and other contrasting fabrics to create an iconic ensemble that was sleek and sophisticated compared to the competition’s overblown creations of the day. The typical Chanel tweed jacket was collarless, lined with contrasting silk that often matched a blouse, trimmed with velvet or ribbon braids and weighted inside with gold chains.
Following the success of Chanel’s tweed collections, many high street shops began buying patterns from Paris for making suits similar to the now legendary outfits Coco Chanel crafted in the 1960s. Shops such as Wallis made a name for themselves by producing fashionable suits and jackets from high-quality tweed fabrics manufactured in Scotland and the north of England. The tweeds produced in the UK are globally regarded as the best available, as such manufacturers can command a premium for the fabric – against competition from third world markets, this enables UK tweed makers to continue using their century’s old, traditional methods without compromising to keep costs down.
Lightweight tweed jackets, suitable for spring and even summer wear offer protection from breezy days and chilly mornings or evenings, and are generally compact enough to easily pack away when you’re on the go. When the summer winds down, winter-weight tweed coats and jackets become available. Winter-weight tweeds offer good protection against wind and cold, and are commonly treated with waterproofing agents to keep the rain at bay.
Whatever the weather, tweed coats and jackets come in a wide variety of styles and sizes to suit men, women and children. Popular tweed jackets and coats are readily available from a wide collection of high street chain stores, as well as more up-market boutiques and department stores.
© Jackets.org.uk 2008
