Why Celebrities and Gen Z Women Love The Jacket-and-Tie Look

From the catwalk to the red carpet, the jacket-and-necktie combo is back for women – it’s a statement of power and authority, say fans of the look.

The jacket-and-necktie combination has been a staple of male dress for centuries, but it’s always been most striking and subversive when worn by women. Now, it’s making a comeback in women’s fashion once more.

On runways, designers are re-inventing the look. In her recent London Fashion Week collection, Tolu Coker showcased oversized leather blazers, paired with satin ties and tailored shirts. While at New York Fashion Week, Thom Browne teamed classic pattern ties with structured patchwork jackets.

The trend isn’t limited to the catwalk. Viewers of the recent Grammy awards may have noticed Sabrina Carpenter’s Dolce & Gabbana show-girl outfit, a Swarovski crystal-encrusted black blazer, with matching tie and skirt. Billie Eilish even offers a tie as part of her official merchandise.

The red carpet is adopting the look, too. At the Berlin Film Festival, Vicky Krieps wore an oversized Bottega Veneta suit. Meanwhile, Doechii styled a Thom Browne exaggerated trouser with a cropped jacket and tie to accept her Grammy win.

Nicole Kidman has gone for the jacket-and-tie look too in YSL, joining a growing list of celebrities including Rihanna, Bella Hadid and Iris Law, who have all embraced the label’s style of tailoring.

Yasmine Tangou is also in the fan club. The content creator and architect, who lives in Paris, likes the oversized, masculine style of a YSL suit, in contrast to other styles of jacket that accentuate curves.

Since moving to the French capital from Milan, Tangou has trawled vintage shops in search of men’s suits. She prefers their structure. “I like the movement in a men’s garment and the wider, boxier silhouette,” she tells the BBC.

On TikTok, Tangou showcases her outfits to thousands of viewers, pairing ties with bomber jackets, trench coats and blazers. “From a social point of view, I really like that wearing a tie and jacket is bold,” she tells the BBC. “People don’t expect it on a woman.”

When it comes to corporate-style looks, Tangou prefers the jacket and tie to the recent office-siren trend because it feels “unsexualised,” she says. “I thought the office-siren look was really cool, but it was about showing off the body, whereas this look is about the garment.”

 “Wearing a broad-shouldered jacket makes a statement,” she says.  “There is power in strong silhouettes.” To balance the masculine structure of her outfits, Tangou draws inspiration from YS’s approach. “I always add a feminine touch,” she explains. “That could be a full face of makeup, a floral clutch bag or a pair of heels.”

Although the jacket-and-tie look is experiencing a revival, this isn’t the first time women’s fashion has embraced it.

Fashion historian Linda Welters traces the trend back to the 19th Century, starting with bowties. She points to John Singer Sargent’s 1897 painting of Mr and Mrs Stokes. In it, Mr Stokes stands behind his wife, who wears a bowtie and a shirtwaist – a women’s blouse styled like a men’s shirt, which was representative of the “new woman”, in rejecting Victorian ideas of femininity.