How Does Tessa Thompson Make Chanel's Signatures Her Own? "Bows, Baby!"

This is The Close-Up, where the biggest names in entertainment explain the story behind their latest personal style statement.

Tessa Thompson has kept her Hedda character at the center of her mood board in the lead-up to the film’s release. That hasn’t required leaning all the way into its source material’s Late Victorian aesthetic, however. She opens the adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's 1891 play in a shade of red so "beautiful," she decided to scatter it throughout her entire press tour wardrobe. "[I]t made me adore wearing the color," she tells me in an email. "I recently wore a bright red leather skirt that remains a favorite."

With her slate of premieres behind her (the film hit theaters October 22), Thompson turned her attention to another strong-willed, well-dressed woman: Gabrielle Chanel.

Thompson was one of several A-listers who toasted Chanel’s new Première Galon watch at an intimate Chateau Royale dinner in New York City last night. Like fellow guests Sarah Pidgeon, Riley Keough, and Paloma Elsesser, her look for the night out revolved around the 18k gold timepiece.

It’s a dainty addition to Thompson’s wrist, but its history (and braided gold strap) makes it stand out. Her style modifies Chanel’s original Première Galon, which debuted in 1987. It’s defined by several clever nods to Gabrielle Chanel staples: an octagonal watch face references the Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle’s stopper, while the leather chain reworks the classic outer of a Chanel quilted bag. The braided strap also traces the lines of Gabrielle Chanel’s preferred trims on her two-piece suits—and there are three variations, each corresponding to a suit silhouette.

That’s a lot of fashion history to pack into one accessory. But as Thompson tells us, it didn’t weigh the piece down. In fact, it inspired her to look toward Mattieu Blazy’s Spring 2026 runway debut for a complementary outfit that’s aspirational in its ease. “I loved the exposed undergarments in the new collection and felt inspired by it for tonight’s styling,” she explains.

Thompson landed on a black tank top with satin wide-leg pants—a nod to pajama dressing, if those pajamas were worn in Gabrielle Chanel’s suite at the Ritz Paris. It covered her four C’s of a strong Chanel homage: “Casual, cool, chic, and classic in mood.”

Her “slightly sporty” beauty beat turned to another set of references. Mainly, “Sade and late '80’s Chanel,” Thompson says.

All Thompson needed was to stack on Chanel Fine Jewelry Coco Crush earrings and rings—with a mix of 18k white gold, 18k yellow gold, and diamonds—to make an impact. But she pushed the look even further with a final nod to the Chanel archives in her hair. Of all the house codes, she defines her favorites with two words: “Bows, baby!” Then, she doubles down. “Bows all the time.”

So Thompson topped her braided ponytail with a double-C coated bow. “I tied one in my hair from a Chanel ribbon I recently bought myself,” she says. The house's first heroine would no doubt approve.

Photographer Matthew Kristall