Written by Charlotte Dominy
Written by Charlotte Dominy
Napoleon Jackets: Welcome to the Vanguard
There has always been something subtly powerful about elements of fashion that the modern world defines as “militaristic”: Double-breasted jackets, padded shoulders, turtle necks that don’t suffocate you but make you feel taller, and knee-high riding boots. Symbols traditionally associated with military or monarchical power have a way of holding personal power over the wearer and others. I stand a little taller wearing my double-breasted dolman, which features gold buttons and intricate frogging on the chest that cascades downwards. It feels like a layer of protection between me and the eyes of others. It also feels like a projection of dominance. It’s not as if everyone walks around with specific knowledge of what jacket represents which unit in which army, but we’ve intrinsically been trained to identify certain elements of fashion with military or royal associations.
But now, these militaristic styles have permeated the mainstream fashion scene. Runway fashion today is resurrecting the 2000s indie sleaze jackets. Jonathan Anderson’s first collection for Dior men features double-layered jackets strikingly similar to those worn by Napoleon’s own imperial guard. Ann Demeulemeester follows suit with a Hussar jacket in their Spring 2026 show. Alexander McQueen presented both a Hussar jacket and a matching skirt in their 2026 ready-to-wear collection, the skirt adorned with the same frogging and button detail.
(left) Dior Men Spring 2026 Menswear. (right) Velite, Horse Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, c. 1805. Print after portrait. Photo from https://cuttersguide.com/pdf/Military-and-Uniforms/uploads/april2025/pdf/History_of_Uniforms_-_Napoleonic_Wars_Napoleons_Army.pdf
But no matter the contemporary associations of the Napoleon jacket, the power one feels from wearing such a status symbol traces much farther back than the previous Napoleon jacket trend of the 2000s, made popular through Hedi Slimane’s Dior Mens collections from 2000-07. Certainly, the vague perception of “power” most people hold in their minds when wearing such a jacket traces right back to wartime, imperial ambition, nobility, and, of course, the once most powerful man in the world: Napoleon Bonaparte.
To that we say, welcome to the vanguard. Here, I’ll outline the brief history of the Napoleon jacket, because you deserve to know what you’re wearing on the front lines of the fashion trend cycle.
The Napoleon jacket has been given many names throughout history. The Hussar, the dolman, the military jacket, the ringmaster jacket, and so on; a concrete name hasn’t been decided on yet. As the historical piece evolves, such a dilemma is only natural. However, the traditional roots of the jacket come from Hungary, where in the 16th century, the dolman became a piece of formal military dress for the Hussars, a type of cavalry unit that rode ahead of the army to scout and report.
(left) Elite Company of the 5th Chasseurs a cheval, c. 1805. Print after H. Chartier. Photo from https://cuttersguide.com/pdf/Military-and-Uniforms/uploads/april2025/pdf/History_of_Uniforms_-_Napoleonic_Wars_Napoleons_Army.pdf (right) McQueen Spring 2026 Ready-To-Wear
The Hussars, known in France as the Chasseurs, were troublemakers. Due to their bright uniforms, they acquired an easily identifiable reputation, one marked by tormenting the villages they visited and their extravagant partying. Such a reputation was further spread alongside the Napoleonic Wars, as Napoleon led his men across Europe and beyond in the early 19th century.
During such campaigns, Napoleon facilitated the return of ornamentation in the French military by rejecting the more practical dress of the revolutionary period. A new male silhouette had emerged in fashion in the late 18th century. Inspired by the classical ancient Greek body of self-mastery, the shoulders were to be pulled back, and embroidery on the ever-popular military jackets widened the shoulders to make men look taller and slimmer.
(left) Ann Demeulemeester spring 2026 Ready-to-Wear (right) Trooper, Chasseurs II cheval of the Imperial Guard in walking out dress in 1804. Photo from https://cuttersguide.com/pdf/Military-and-Uniforms/uploads/april2025/pdf/History_of_Uniforms_-_Napoleonic_Wars_Napoleons_Army.pdf
French renditions of the military uniform spread across Europe, and outside influences were brought home. Men wanted to emulate the most powerful military officer in the world. Napoleon himself forwent the imperialistic dress of the Emperor, and donned the Chasseur uniform when on expeditions, along with the grenadier uniform when at home. Napoleon posing for portraits in his blue, red, and white military uniform further helped popularize the uniform in everyday life. Thus, the military uniform, and therefore the ‘Napoleon jacket’, became a symbol of fashion and status beyond the ranks of the military, and into the nobility.
Today’s militaries have forgotten the loud Hussar jackets for a simpler and more practical approach. Some Hussar units still exist, and elements of their traditional wear are present in the ceremonial, full-dress uniforms of certain units around the world. Within the fashion world, however, the Napoleonic Wars and their influence in popularizing the hussar jacket have been lost to history. Contemporary history had coined it as indie sleaze – “the military jacket” – at least until it was recently renamed.
The name “Napoleon Jacket” now serves to remind us of the imperialistic ambitions behind the uniform, the ambitions of the man himself. A jacket intertwined with war, class, nobility, and uniform in the colours of the French flag— a jacket with the ability to evoke that almost ancient feeling of imperial power in its wearers —can surely have its meaning evolve. However, with the rise of authoritarianism around the world, patriots becoming prouder and yelling out dreams of expansion, and supposedly democratic presidents’ promotion of ‘long live the king’ on X, the connection to the Napoleonic past may better fit the mold, potentially for the worse.
Bibliography:
Kingsbridge Cookworthy Museum. “The Regency: Fashion and Rumours of War.” Last modified n.d. Accessed October 17, 2025. https://kingsbridgemuseum.org.uk/costume-gallery/
Lynch, Annette, and Mitchell D. Strauss, eds. Ethnic Dress in the United States: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield (Bloomsbury), 2014.
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