Dua Lipa Just Kickstarted The Military Jacket Renaissance

No one multitasks like Dua Lipa. The “Houdini” songstress has been known to juggle work, travel, and R&R, especially during her Radical Optimism Tour, which wrapped in December. Her nickname “Vacanza Queen” was created to cheekily reference all the side trips she took then, exploring different cities and carving out downtime on idyllic beaches.

Early this week, during a trip to South Africa, she once again balanced work and play, while also kickstarting a revival of an early ‘00s go-to outerwear style: the military jacket.

Dua’s Red Military Jacket

The famed globetrotter added a new stamp to her passport when she landed in Cape Town for the first-time ever this month. As per usual, Lipa took her followers with her by sharing snippets of the trip via an Instagram photo dump, which included what she saw, ate, and wore. One look, in particular, demanded attention.

Lipa’s no-fuss base included a white top with a subtle crop and denim shorts, aka jorts, with a bit of fraying on the hem. It’s the go-to model-off-duty formula built on wardrobe staples.

The “New Rules” hitmaker’s choice of outerwear, however, was anything but basic. She wore a cropped military jacket from Ann Demeulemeester’s Spring/Summer 2026 runway; it came in a vivid red hue with silver dome buttons along the torso and on the epaulettes. Meanwhile, hints of gold lined the cuff and elbows for a mix of metallic hues.

The military-inspired topper was a staple in the early aughts, before going out of fashion. Its comeback was all but assured after several SS26 runways featured the ornate outerwear. Burberry, McQueen, and of course Demeulemeester spotlighted the jacket on their London and Paris Fashion Week shows, respectively, while Jenna Ortega echoed the military jacket-approving sentiment in Dior’s front row, where she wore a sleeveless take on the style.

As for accessories, the Chanel endorser wore a black bag from the brand, along with a chunky chain bracelet in silver, round sunglasses, a studded brown belt, and brown buckled boots.

A Similar Outfit Formula

Elsewhere in the dump, Lipa adhered to the same outfit formula, wearing a white top from Vaquera with jorts. To keep warm on top, she layered two different jackets, including a gray zip-up sweatshirt under a more lightweight khaki piece. She accessorized with a leopard print belt, as well as the same Chanel bag and brown boots.

The military jacket renaissance is here. Are you ready for it?