Insight of the Day: From Doechii to Nicole Kidman: Why celebrities and Gen Z women love the jacket-and-tie look
- InsightTrendsWorld
- Mar 12
- 10 min read
Why is it the topic trending?
The jacket-and-tie look for women is trending because it represents a resurgence of a historically significant fashion statement that is being reinterpreted for modern times. The trend taps into current cultural conversations around power, gender expression, and generational shifts in fashion consumption. The visual impact of celebrities and Gen Z influencers embracing the style is further amplifying its trendiness.
Overview
This article explores the comeback of the jacket-and-necktie look in women's fashion, from runways to red carpets and everyday style. It traces the historical roots of women adopting masculine attire, highlights current celebrity and designer endorsements, and analyzes the various motivations behind this trend, ranging from statements of power and authority to generational novelty and personal expression.
Detailed findings
Runway Revival: Designers like Tolu Coker and Thom Browne are featuring jacket-and-tie combinations in their collections, showcasing diverse interpretations from oversized leather blazers to structured patchwork jackets.
Celebrity Endorsement: Major celebrities like Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Doechii, Nicole Kidman, Rihanna, Bella Hadid, and Iris Law have embraced the look in various settings, from red carpets to merchandise.
Historical Context: Fashion historians trace the trend back to the 19th century "new woman," suffragettes, and iconic figures like Marlene Dietrich and Yves Saint Laurent who championed women in suits and ties.
Power Statement: Experts and fans like Yasmine Tangou perceive the look as a statement of power, authority, and boldness, contrasting with traditional feminine styles and even the "office siren" trend.
Gen Z Novelty & Fun: Gen Z individuals, as exemplified by Holly Beddingfield, are embracing the trend as a novel and fun way to experiment with office wear, especially as they return to physical workspaces after periods of remote work.
Masculine Inspiration: Women are drawn to the structure and silhouette of men's garments, finding them empowering and offering a different aesthetic than curve-accentuating styles.
Personal Branding: Sociologists like Dr Gaby Harris suggest celebrities use the look to project leadership and competence, aligning with symbols of power.
Feminine Juxtaposition: The trend often involves balancing the masculine look with feminine touches like makeup, accessories, and heels, creating a nuanced style.
Menswear Shift: The declining popularity of jackets and ties in menswear is seen as creating space for women to "claim and feminize the look."
Key takeaway
The resurgence of the jacket-and-tie look for women is multi-faceted, driven by a blend of historical resonance, contemporary cultural shifts, and individual motivations. It's not simply a fashion trend but a statement reflecting changing perceptions of gender, power, and personal style.
Main trend
"Reclaiming Power Dressing" - The re-emergence of traditionally masculine attire like jackets and ties in women's fashion, signifying a contemporary reinterpretation of power dressing and challenging conventional gender norms.
Description of the Trend ("Reclaiming Power Dressing")
"Reclaiming Power Dressing" describes the trend where women are actively adopting and reinterpreting traditionally masculine garments, specifically jackets and ties, as a means of expressing power, authority, and individuality in contemporary fashion. This trend goes beyond mere imitation of menswear; it's a deliberate "reclaiming" and feminization of clothing historically associated with male dominance. It embodies a conscious choice to adopt traditionally powerful silhouettes while imbuing them with personal style and feminine nuances, thereby redefining what power dressing means for women in the 21st century. It signifies a move away from solely curve-accentuating styles as expressions of femininity and embraces the confidence and statement inherent in structured, traditionally masculine garments.
What is consumer motivation?
Consumer motivation is driven by a combination of factors:
Expressing Power & Authority: The jacket and tie symbolize power and competence, allowing women to project these qualities through their clothing.
Fashion Novelty & Experimentation: For Gen Z especially, office wear is a new frontier for fashion experimentation, and ties offer a fun and affordable way to add polish and uniqueness to outfits.
Challenging Gender Norms: Wearing traditionally masculine attire is a way to subvert expectations and challenge conventional ideas of femininity and women's roles in society.
Personal Style & Individuality: The trend allows for personal expression through diverse interpretations, balancing masculine structure with feminine touches and creating unique styles.
Feeling "Put Together" & Polished: Ties and jackets can elevate even casual outfits, making women feel more put-together and confident.
Historical Connection: Some women may be drawn to the historical significance of the look, connecting with past movements like the suffragettes and iconic figures who used fashion to make statements.
What is driving trend?
The trend of "Reclaiming Power Dressing" is driven by:
Designer Influence: High-fashion designers showcasing jacket-and-tie looks on runways provides legitimacy and inspiration for the trend.
Celebrity Endorsement: Celebrities adopting the look on red carpets and in their personal style creates aspirational examples and amplifies visibility.
Social Media & Influencers: Content creators like Yasmine Tangou showcasing their interpretations on platforms like TikTok spread the trend and offer styling inspiration to a wider audience.
Shifting Gender Norms: Broadening societal conversations around gender fluidity and challenging traditional gender roles create a more receptive environment for women adopting masculine styles.
Changing Work Environments: The return to offices after remote work prompts a re-evaluation of office attire, especially for Gen Z who are experiencing it anew.
Menswear Evolution: The decline of formal menswear, making jackets and ties less ubiquitous in men's fashion, potentially makes the look feel "fresh" and impactful when adopted by women.
Political Context: The trend is interpreted by some as a response to political climates and a desire for women to project strength and leadership in a world often still dominated by male figures.
What is motivation beyond the trend?
Beyond the immediate trend, motivations are:
For Consumers:
Self-Expression & Individuality: Fashion as a tool for expressing personal identity, beliefs, and challenging societal norms.
Empowerment through Clothing: Using clothing to feel confident, powerful, and in control.
Comfort & Style Diversity: Expanding personal style beyond traditional feminine norms, embracing comfortable and structured silhouettes.
For Brands & Fashion Industry:
Drive Sales & Innovation: Trends drive consumer desire and purchasing, offering brands opportunities to innovate and introduce new styles.
Cultural Relevance: Aligning with current cultural conversations makes brands appear relevant and progressive.
Expand Target Market: Tapping into the growing desire for gender-neutral and non-traditional fashion expands potential customer bases.
Description of consumers article is referring to (what is their age?, what is their gender? What is their income? What is their lifestyle)
The article refers to a range of consumers, but the primary focus is on women, particularly Gen Z and younger millennials, who are at the forefront of adopting this trend.
Age: Primarily Gen Z and younger millennials (Zillennials), but also includes older millennials and Gen X who are influenced by or contributing to the trend (like the designers, historians, and celebrities mentioned).
Gender: Women primarily, although the trend itself is about blurring gender lines in fashion.
Income: Likely ranges from middle income upwards, as fashion consciousness and purchasing new clothing, even affordable ties, implies some disposable income. Content creators and celebrities suggest a higher income bracket as they are wearing designer pieces.
Lifestyle: Fashion-conscious, digitally connected (influenced by social media trends and celebrities), potentially career-oriented (especially those referencing office wear), and interested in expressing individuality and potentially progressive views through fashion. They are likely aware of and influenced by current fashion trends and cultural conversations around gender and power.
Conclusions
The article concludes that the jacket-and-tie trend for women is more than just a fleeting fashion fad. It represents a meaningful shift in women's fashion that is rooted in historical context, influenced by contemporary cultural currents, and driven by individual motivations related to power, self-expression, and challenging gender norms. It's a complex trend with multiple interpretations, appealing to different motivations from historical resonance to Gen Z novelty.
Implications for brands
Embrace Gender-Fluid Designs: Brands should consider offering more gender-neutral or traditionally masculine styles in women's collections, including jackets, ties, and structured tailoring.
Highlight Empowerment & Individuality: Marketing campaigns should focus on the empowering and individualistic aspects of the trend, showcasing diverse interpretations and body types.
Offer Versatile Styling Options: Provide styling guidance and show how to balance masculine and feminine elements within the look, appealing to different comfort levels.
Cater to Gen Z & Younger Millennials: Recognize Gen Z's interest in novelty and affordable ways to experiment with the trend. Offer accessible price points and trend-driven pieces.
Acknowledge Historical Context: Brands can leverage the historical significance of the trend in their marketing, referencing iconic figures and movements that embraced similar styles.
Implication for society
Challenging Gender Stereotypes: The trend contributes to breaking down rigid gender stereotypes in fashion and broader society, normalizing women in traditionally masculine attire.
Redefining Power Dressing: It expands the definition of "power dressing" for women, moving beyond solely feminine styles to include traditionally masculine garments as expressions of authority and competence.
Increased Fashion Diversity: The trend promotes greater diversity and inclusivity in fashion, offering more style options and challenging narrow definitions of femininity.
Reflecting Cultural Shifts: Fashion trends like this act as a visible indicator of evolving societal attitudes towards gender, power, and self-expression.
Implications for consumers
Expanded Style Choices: Women gain access to a wider range of style options and greater freedom to express themselves through clothing.
Empowerment through Fashion: Consumers can use fashion as a tool for self-empowerment and to project desired qualities like confidence and authority.
Reduced Gendered Expectations in Clothing: Consumers may feel less pressure to conform to traditional gendered clothing norms and can explore styles that resonate with their personal identity.
More Fun & Experimentation with Fashion: The trend encourages experimentation and playfulness with fashion, especially for younger generations who see clothing as a form of self-expression and entertainment.
Implication for Future
Blurred Gender Lines in Fashion: The trend signals a continued blurring of gender lines in fashion, with menswear and womenswear becoming increasingly fluid and interchangeable.
Personalized Power Dressing: "Power dressing" will likely become more personalized and less rigidly defined, allowing individuals to express power and authority in diverse ways through their clothing.
Sustained Demand for Versatile Clothing: Consumers may increasingly seek versatile clothing items that can be styled in both masculine and feminine ways, reflecting a desire for flexible and adaptable wardrobes.
Continued Trend Evolution: The jacket-and-tie look will likely evolve, with designers and consumers continuing to reinterpret and adapt it in new and creative ways.
Consumer Trend
"Gender-Fluid Fashion Expression": Consumers, particularly women, are increasingly embracing fashion as a tool for gender-fluid self-expression, moving beyond traditional gendered clothing norms and actively incorporating elements from menswear into their wardrobes to create unique and personalized styles.
Consumer Sub Trend
"The New Office Novelty": Gen Z and younger millennials are approaching office wear with a sense of novelty and experimentation, viewing it as a fresh opportunity for fashion expression after periods of remote work and actively seeking out trends like the jacket-and-tie look to make office dressing fun and stylish.
Big Social Trend
"Challenging Gender Binaries": A broader societal trend of actively challenging and dismantling rigid gender binaries across various aspects of life, including fashion, where individuals feel increasingly empowered to express their identities outside of traditional male/female categories.
Worldwide Social Trend
"Globalization of Individuality in Style": Across the globe, there is a growing emphasis on individual style and personal expression in fashion, moving away from homogenous trends and embracing diverse aesthetics that reflect individual identities and cultural influences.
Social Drive
"Desire for Authenticity & Self-Expression": Consumers are increasingly driven by a desire to express their authentic selves and individual identities through all aspects of their lives, including fashion, leading them to embrace trends that allow for personalized and non-conformist style choices.
Learnings for brands to use in 2025
Embrace Inclusivity in Sizing & Marketing: Offer wider size ranges and represent diverse body types and gender expressions in marketing materials.
Focus on Versatility & Mix-and-Match Styling: Design collections that encourage mixing menswear and womenswear elements, offering versatile pieces that can be styled in multiple ways.
Highlight Comfort & Confidence: Emphasize the comfort and confidence-boosting aspects of structured, traditionally masculine garments for women.
Leverage Digital Platforms for Styling Inspiration: Utilize social media and digital platforms to showcase diverse styling options and user-generated content featuring the trend.
Strategy Recommendations for brands to follow in 2025
Develop Gender-Neutral Capsule Collections: Create capsule collections featuring key pieces like blazers, ties, shirts, and trousers designed to be styled across genders.
Collaborate with Gender-Fluid Influencers: Partner with influencers who embody gender-fluid style and can authentically promote the trend to their audiences.
Offer Virtual Styling Services: Provide online styling tools and services that help customers experiment with different ways to incorporate the trend into their personal style.
Create Content Showcasing Historical Context & Modern Interpretations: Develop engaging content (blog posts, videos, social media series) that explores the history of women in suits and ties and showcases contemporary interpretations of the trend.
Final sentence (key concept) describing main trend from article
The "Reclaiming Power Dressing" trend showcases women confidently adopting and redefining traditionally masculine attire like jackets and ties as potent symbols of contemporary power, individuality, and evolving gender norms in fashion.
What brands & companies should do in 2025 to benefit from trend and how to do it.
In 2025, brands and fashion companies should embrace "Authentic Gender-Fluidity" in their offerings. To benefit from this trend they should:
Fashion Brands: Design and market clothing that genuinely transcends traditional gender boundaries. This means moving beyond simply offering "women's versions" of menswear, and instead creating truly versatile garments. Focus on fit, fabric, and styling versatility. Showcase diverse models and styling in campaigns, highlighting individual expression and breaking down gendered presentation norms.
Retailers: Curate retail spaces (both physical and online) to reflect gender-fluid styling, perhaps moving away from strictly segregated men's and women's sections in certain collections. Train staff to offer inclusive styling advice and support customers exploring non-traditional looks.
Final Note:
Core Trend:
Reclaiming Power Dressing: Women's adoption and reinterpretation of traditionally masculine jacket-and-tie looks as a statement of power, individuality, and evolving gender norms.
Core Strategy:
Authentic Gender-Fluidity: Brands should authentically embrace gender fluidity in design, marketing, and retail experiences, moving beyond surface-level representation to genuine inclusivity.
Core Industry Trend:
Blurring Gender Lines in Fashion: Continued blurring of traditional menswear and womenswear categories, with increasing demand for versatile and gender-neutral clothing options.
Core Consumer Motivation:
Authenticity & Self-Expression: Consumers are motivated by expressing their authentic selves and challenging societal norms through fashion, seeking individualistic and non-conformist styles.
Final Conclusion: The jacket-and-tie trend for women signifies a larger shift towards "Authentic Gender-Fluidity" in fashion. Brands that genuinely embrace this shift by offering inclusive designs, marketing, and retail experiences will be best positioned to resonate with and benefit from this evolving consumer landscape.
Core Trend Detailed: (Approximately 200 words) "Reclaiming Power Dressing" represents a dynamic and culturally significant trend in contemporary fashion. It's characterized by women's deliberate adoption of jackets and ties – garments historically coded as masculine symbols of authority and professional status. This trend is not merely about mimicking menswear, but about a conscious act of "reclaiming" these garments and imbuing them with new meaning within womenswear. It signifies a departure from solely traditional expressions of femininity in dress and embraces the structured silhouettes and symbolic power previously associated with men's attire. Fuelled by designers' reinterpretations, celebrity endorsements, and social media visibility, this trend resonates with women seeking to express confidence, challenge gendered expectations, and explore more diverse avenues of personal style. "Reclaiming Power Dressing" embodies a contemporary redefinition of power in fashion, moving beyond traditional norms to embrace a more fluid and individualized expression of authority, competence, and self-assuredness through clothing choices that intentionally blur gender lines.
Comments