Which fashion material did Coco Chanel use in her first jersey collections?

Coco Chanel used wool jersey in her first jersey collections.

Jersey had traditionally been associated with men’s underwear and sportswear rather than luxury womenswear. Chanel recognized that the knitted fabric was comfortable, flexible, and relatively inexpensive. During the early 1910s, she transformed it into a modern fashion material, using it for relaxed dresses, sweaters, and other garments.

Her use of jersey helped distinguish her designs from the rigid corseted clothing common before the First World War. The fabric moved easily with the body and suited the active lifestyle Chanel promoted. Its practical qualities became part of the broader Chanel idea that elegance could be simple and wearable.

The material is sometimes described simply as jersey, but the early collections are especially associated with wool jersey. Later designers also used cotton, silk, and synthetic jerseys, so the more specific answer identifies the wool version linked to Chanel’s first major experiments.