How linen made a cool return to become the must-wear fabric of the summer

Cleopatra wore it. So did Jacqueline Kennedy, Katharine Hepburn (and Audrey Hepburn, for that matter), countless mid-century summer brides and Vogue models galore. Yet linen has lately languished in the realm of holiday-wear, more associated with the likes of dads in tiki bars than neatly nipped-in fashion plates.

This summer, look for linen to return to the forefront of fashionability. A new audience is embracing its credentials as a natural fibre with an easily traceable supply chain – not to mention its breathability and great texture.

“Linen is the fibre with everything correct,” says Marie-Emmanuelle Belzung, the director of trade body CELC-Masters of Linen, whose month-long campaign celebrating the fabric, “I Love Linen”, ends tomorrow.

“It’s a natural, sustainable fibre, it’s ethically produced, it doesn’t need any irrigation, it’s innovative, it’s creative and it’s local.”

Jumpsuit ￡125, Toa.st; Zimmermann dress, ￡495, Matchesfashion.com; Trinity blouse, ￡95, Ghost; Tropical embroideries shirt ￡166, Intropia

Linen is derived from the flax plant. It’s among the oldest fabrics in the world – archaeologists unearthed a 38,000-year-old linen shoe in a cave in Georgia, and ancient Egyptians used it for everything from pharaonic vestments to burial wrappings.

Linton dress, ￡295, M.I.H Jeans

In the Thirties, women wore linen suits and linen-lace wedding gowns. Hippies sewed it into embroidered peasant dresses and harem trousers.

Then, in the midst of a rage for man-made fabrics, it took a back seat, despite being one of the most readily accessible materials around (80 per cent of the world’s supply is grown in France, Belgium and the Netherlands).

For spring-summer 2018, linen is cooler than it’s been in decades. French fashion darling Simon Porte Jacquemus used it in a collection dedicated to his mother. Brock Collection showed the fabric’s Merchant Ivory-esque side in a bateauneckline embroidered dress. And Akris upped its luxe credentials with an ecru trouser suit.

Even antique linen sheets or dresses can look fresh today. But beware the fabric’s lack of elasticity – if folded along the same lines for years, linen pieces can break, so unfurl any linen shirts you’ve found in the loft with care.

Tracking the trend 

1930 All aboard

Linen suits, rather than bikinis and cut-off denim shorts, were yachting-wear of choice for women in the Thirties, as seen in this Vogue photograph by George Hoyningen-Huene.

1963 A Kennedy family portrait

Jackie Kennedy often wore linen dresses during family holidays, as seen in this photograph of the First Family in Palm Beach, Florida. Her mauve linen dress is by Oleg Cassini.

2017 On the catwalk

Brock Collection brought linen to the runway with its period-drama dresses, while Jacquemus and Akris were among the other fashion brands to explore the fabric’s high-fashion side.