The Chanel Tweed jackets were first introduced in 1954, with the boucle Tweed - offering a Luxury feel and a design combination of loose-fitting tailored jacket and a collarless style of cardigan.
However, thirty years earlier in 1924, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel was first inspired to utilise Scottish textiles in her couture. Chanel's attraction to Scottish fabrics was cultivated when she spent summers in the Highlands with the second Duke of Westminster in the mid 1920's. It was here that she looked towards the traditional fabrics of Scotland and visiting the local mills.
Chanel was also inspired by the traditions of the Highland, particularly a handwoven woollen textile that would be the inspiration behind the iconic boucle of the Chanel suit. Despite its rough quality, she sourced from a local mill and began incorporating this fabric into her outfits and designs, in colours inspired by Scotland's granite, moss and bracken.
Chanel became one of the most prestigious designers to champion Scottish textiles, utilising them in every collection - Fair Isle knits, Tweeds, Tartan and Cashmere.
Credit: inspired and compiled from: Caroline Young/Ann Martin, Tartan + Tweed, ed. Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2017.