TRIGGER WARNING! SKINNY JEANS RE-ENTERED THE BUILDING

(Originally Published for PhotoBook Magazine)

So far in 2024, we’ve witnessed several surprising fashion moments, from Victorian-era capris to futuristic inflatable shoes. Yet the most shocking of all? The possible resurgence of skinny jeans. (Pause for a moment to process.)

Now that you’ve taken a second, let’s consider this carefully. Are we truly that surprised? Expert trend analysts would say not at all, but those who just burned every pair in favor of puddle pants might be kicking themselves.

Our evidence? Sprinkles of skinny jeans have trickled down the Fall 2024 runway collections of Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Chloe, Schiaparelli, Alexander McQueen, and Acne Studios. Celebrities such as Kate Moss and her daughter Lila have also been spotted sporting them recently. Lastly, according to Databutmakeitfashion’s analysis, the popularity of skinny jeans has risen by 50% between January 4, 2024 and February 4, 2024.

Being a millennial, I clearly recall the epic rise and fall of skinny jeans, experiencing every iteration: jeggings, bright colors, velvet, corduroy, coated. At twelve years old and too scrawny for the selection available, I was desperate to find a colorful pair that would fit my prepubescent body (years before J Brand and Rag & Bone entered the picture). Enlisting my mother for help, she took me to the famous East Village punk rock haven, Trash & Vaudeville. Cosplaying rockstar, I scored a few outrageous pairs—white with black stripes, red, and black with embroidered kitties. Have you been transported to the noughties yet? Perhaps you’re getting flashbacks of Gossip Girl, American Apparel, and your old iPod Nano.

As pant styles grow looser and looser, leaning all the way towards barrel-legged, it’s virtually inevitable that the trend cycle will bounce back to tight jeans. This phenomenon, dubbed the “pendulum swing” by James Harris in Vogue’s recent article, is described as a violent reaction to the “blight on society” that was “the skinny jean era.” Steff Yotka, Head of Content at SSENSE also adds, “Once the market becomes saturated with an idea, fashion people instinctively want the opposite. You can see it starting to happen on the runways; something slightly narrower feels inevitable” (Vogue).

We’ve seen this story before with the resurgence of low-rise jeans and Y2K everything. It’s quite fitting that the skinny revival is seemingly accompanied by another noughties friend: boho-chic, reflected in the Chloé Fall 2024 and Gucci Resort 2025 collections.

Aside from the cyclical nature of trends, could there be additional reasons for the skinny jean comeback? With the rising popularity of knee high boots, it’s possible skinny jeans are resurging out of practicality. I’ve personally struggled to style my knee high boots recently, growing tired of hiding the entire shaft under billowing garments and contemplating how ‘cheugy’ it would look to opt for skinny jeans. Perhaps designers have had the same thought, wishing to highlight rather than hide their shoes. In London, for example, we saw  Balenciaga send a tight knee high pair of boots down the runway for its Fall 2024 collection.

Considering the inventory data on e-commerce sites like Net-a-Porter, Moda Operandi, and FWRD, it seems premature to predict the extent of the revival. Less than 10% of each denim collection offered is attributed to skinny jeans. It comes as no surprise that wide-leg and straight-leg styles dominate, although I would argue that several straight-leg categorized styles lean rather narrow, as well as use descriptors such as ‘slim’ instead of ‘skinny’. Jill Guenza, the Global Vice President of Design at Levis Strauss & Co., predicts that “The era of the 2024 skinny jean could look vastly different from the super tight and low styles we came to know in the noughties, with brands modernising the trends for today’s consumer” (The Sydney Morning Herald). For marketing purposes, perhaps these skinny styles are being labeled differently, at least for now. We may also anticipate a contemporary iteration of the skinny jean, slightly less tight than how we remember them.

The skinny jeans in question beg us to examine the nature of trends in general; their imposing limitations and the “arbiters” (ELLE) that shape them—a classic case of the chicken or the egg. With fashion, it’s rather contextual. Influence stems from multiple sources, such as trendsetters, designers, subcultures, all intersecting at different angles (NPR). With the advance of social media, the trend life cycle appears faster and more unavoidable than ever, prompting reflection on its overall validity and sustainability in relation to our personal style and judgment. Is it truly socially unacceptable to remain loyal to passé trends, even if they’re deemed ‘cheugy’? Is one considered out of touch for ignoring the ever-changing fashion zeitgeist? Could Anne Hathaway’s lumpy blue sweater actually be a fashion statement?

However, before we start mourning our beloved roomy denim, there seems to be a silver lining to this comeback story. According to Vogue, there’s nothing to worry about, as our society is moving towards a “post-trend era” where wide, straight, and skinny-legged all live in harmony. Let us remember that trend revivals have resulted in some of our most beloved pieces (hello Fendi baguettes), with contemporary tweaks breathing new life into previously dated styles. To Guenza’s previous point, skinny jeans will most likely undergo a modern makeover, captivatingly presented to entice even the skeptics. In designers we trust, as always, to create pieces that will catapult our outfits to utter chicness. 

A couple of scrolls later on Databutmakeitfashion’s Instagram page, and I see there’s also been a 54% increase in the popularity of boat shoes since January 2024. Not quite mentally ready for that one… I can only handle one tragic throwback item at a time.