One of the most hilarious things for me as a queer fashion observer is how straight men and older millennials seem to have become a greater market for skinny jeans than gay men. Its hilarious because wearing skinny jeans is something that used to get me picked on and called F-slurs, among other things. And gay men are known for setting trends, not following them. So, yes, we become the butt of jokes because were always ahead. We tend to prioritise individuality, probably because we rarely fit in.
You may have come across many articles and think-pieces over the years talking about the death of skinny jeans, but a stroll on any busy South African street makes it clear skinny jeans are not going anywhere. Whereas the cut used to dominate, now its just one among many that people love en masse. Yes, new styles appear, like Gen-Z's current preoccupation with baggy fits, but they tend to coexist with many others. At times they are just an update of whats been popular before.
This year, for example, a Vogue panel of experts reported eight different styles they believe to be in style for 2025. As we transition from cooler, winter months into early spring in 2025, we see loose, flowy silhouettes leading denim trends, said Jill Guenza, global VP of womens design at Levi Strauss Co, telling the fashion bible early this year, in reference to northern hemisphere seasonal trends. In the same article, however, they spoke of the bootcuts return the denim capri the simple straight leg variety tailored shorts curved-leg jeans jeans with ties, belts and trims and different types of denim maxiskirts, some plain, some with patchwork stitching.
Its a wide range of styles that makes it hard to define an era by style in the way that bootcuts defined the 1970s and skinnies defined the early 2000s, well into the 2010s. Its not just denim. Across fashion, styles are no longer a reliable indicator of a cycle its become more about individual mindsets. I can think of several reasons why this might be.
Writing for Harpers Bazaar, Amy de Klerk observes: The idea of seasonal trends, however and those fleeting of-the-moment must-haves has been rightly questioned in recent years, with the fashion industry attempting to rework itself onto a more sustainable path as the climate crisis becomes an unavoidable issue.
