Gen Z is bringing back another millennial fashion trend — whether you like it or not
Here’s the skinny: A controversial cut of denim could soon find its way back into your wardrobe.
That’s right, the skinny jeans renaissance is upon us whether you like it or not, revived by fan-favorite A-listers and heritage, high fashion brands alike.
Despite Gen Z declaring the divisive denim passe just a few years back, the millennial mainstay — thigh-gripping jeans that require a few tugs and some acrobatics to pull on — has been spotted on Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski and Robert Pattinson.
Miu Miu, a fashion house with a Gen Z cult following, sent skin-tight denim down its fall/winter 2024 runway, and that very same season saw skinny jeans from Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen, too.
Around the same time, the popular Instagram page @databutmakeitfashion reported that skinny jeans searches soared 50% earlier this year. And on TikTok, creators show off how to style skinny jeans — some even digging through their own archives to unearth a pair from 2016 — and begging for the cut’s “comeback.”
“It’s rare now to see skinny jeans in the wild, which subsequently means that brands and influential dressers will inevitably look to bring them back to the table,” Farfetch’s senior menswear editor Luke Raymond told GQ.
“Add the nostalgic throwback to the #indiesleaze early ’00s that has been gaining steam, and you have a perfect storm for the return of the skinny jean.”
The “indie sleaze” aesthetic — marked by dark eyeliner, skinny scarves, snug denim, stripes, mesh and cheetah print — harkens back to the heyday of Tumblr in the early aughts and 2010s, when Kate Moss, Alexa Chung and the Olsen twins were visions of edgy, alternative fashion. It was a time before Gen Z’s sweatpant-jean hybrids, when millennials had the contentious “jegging,” an über-stretchy jean-legging monstrosity that subsequently became the golden standard of ultra-skinny denim.
“In the fashion industry, everything that goes out eventually comes back in,” Shelby Goldfaden, Director of Merchandising at M.M.LaFleur told The Post, noting that the “timeless” style is the “perfect balance of structure and ease” and marks a return to tailored fashion.
“We’re emerging from a period dominated by relaxed fits, and skinny jeans offer a sleek silhouette that pairs well with casual and dressy tops. They’re also ideal for showcasing statement footwear, which we’re seeing everywhere this fall.”
The slimmed-down trou is a stark contrast from the loose-fitting pants that have long been en vogue. Drake’s oversized khakis went viral earlier this year, while stars like Billie Eilish were early adopters of baggy garments. The comfort, Goldfaden said, may be preferable to those who adamantly oppose narrow denim, which might also “feel too familiar or dated” in some fashionistas’ closets.
“Shapes come and go, but one of my favorite aspects of the oversize silhouette that dominates today is that it is possible for the wearer to look directional and very comfortable at the same time,” Michael Kardamakis, founder of vintage retailer Endyma, told GQ, adding that “it’s no longer a fashion faux pas to want to feel extremely comfy.”
Where silhouettes once ballooned, now, slender is chic with the rise of svelte styles like “Ozempic coats,” despite Gen Zers once swearing off the uncomfortably restrictive skinny jeans.
While it seems like just yesterday that the young generation sounded the skinny jean death knell — along with decidedly “cheugy” millennial side parts and Gucci belts — their revival is, in part, thanks to the rapidly changing, monthly “micro trends” that have expedited the “20-year trend cycle.”
Slim denim, in fact, was the pinnacle of style less than a decade ago, although industry experts have their fingers crossed that their begrudging return comes with revamped fit that mirrors today’s preference for comfort.
“I think that every trend that presents itself imparts fashion consumers with some wisdom that lingers on,” Kardamakis said.
