Last year, as we slowly emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, I found that my Instagram feed was populated with images of street style influencers sporting jeans that were intentionally left unbuttoned. While, at first, this looked like an attempt to breathe new life into a staple silhouette, upon closer examination, I couldn’t help but wonder whether there was more to this trend than meets the eye. Was what seemed like a simple sartorial experiment actually a silent, subconscious protest against the rigid waistbands of jeans? Was it our way of saying that we aren’t quite ready to leave behind the stretchy, spacious bottoms we’ve lived in during the last few years? Would we ever be able to wholeheartedly welcome jeans back into our wardrobes? Armed with these questions, Blur The Border reached out to six industry insiders, and here’s what they had to say.
The roomier iterations are back
“People don’t want restrictive silhouettes or fabrics anymore, there’s a want for looser iterations.”
- Nishika Bhagat, Co-founder, Osé Studios
Nishika Bhagat | Co-founder, Osé Studios
Raksha Tated | Founder, Reverce
Karma Dhingra | Style influencer
With social commitments crowding our calendars again, it’s only natural to assume that sweatpants and joggers have taken a backseat in most closets. However, Nishika Bhagat, co-founder of Osé Studios, shares that this is far from the case for two key reasons: (a) The loyalties of Gen Zers and millennials, who now form a large portion of most brands’ customer base, continue to lie with loungewear, and (b) Even when it comes to shoppers from older generations, there seems to be a growing aversion to clothing that doesn’t prioritise comfort. “People don’t want restrictive silhouettes or fabrics anymore. Loungewear detailing is increasingly being brought to a range of separates including jeans, and there’s a want for looser iterations such as mom jeans or boyfriend jeans,” says Bhagat whose label stocks both athleisure wear and a slouchy take on denim essentials.
In addition to this, the popularity of baggy bottoms, whether its joggers or jeans inspired by them, is fuelled by another key factor. “People, irrespective of their size, want their clothes to make them feel good. Roomy, comfortable bottoms are more size-inclusive, and therefore tend to appeal to a broader audience,” says Raksha Tated, founder of streetwear label Reverce.
Style influencer Karma Dhingra seconds this, explaining that jeans, especially the skinny kind, are unable to adapt to diverse body types. “In the past, when I used to wear skinny jeans, I had to get them tapered because my thighs are heavier than my calves. Additionally, it was always a struggle to get into them, and after a few hours of wearing them, I would notice that the stitching left marks on my skin. I’ve transitioned out of the joggers that I wore during the pandemic, and I’m back to wearing jeans regularly but I tend to opt for more comfortable styles. I frequently wear this baggy Calvin Klein pair that my dad bought when he was in his thirties,” says Dhingra who now veers towards softer, more breathable jeans and also keeps on-trend alternatives such as cargo pants on standby.
All kinds of jeans are welcome
“I found it easy to go back to wearing jeans, and I don’t think I can now wear sweatpants regularly”
- Khushnaz Ashdin Turner, Influencer
Khushnaz Ashdin Turner | Influencer
Isha Bhansali | Celebrity Stylist
Madina Kirpalani | Off Duty
For Khushnaz Ashdin Turner, influencer and mother of two, wearing sweatpants brings back not-so-fond memories. “I found it easy to go back to wearing jeans, and I don’t think I can now wear sweatpants regularly–they remind me of the last few years, which so many of us want to leave behind. Of late, I’m loving being able to wear over-the-top and fitted clothes,” she says.
Like Turner, celebrity stylist Isha Bhansali was also eager to wear jeans again. A denim enthusiast, she slipped back into different kinds of silhouettes (including the oversized, Y2K-inspired ones) with ease. In her opinion, however, the success of the more accommodating options has less to do with the comfort that we got accustomed to during the pandemic and more to do with the cyclical nature of trends. In the world of fashion, everything old is ultimately new again. “Even before the pandemic lots of retro silhouettes, such as flared jeans, were gaining popularity and these styles will continue to resurface every few years,” says Bhansali. The buying behaviours that homegrown denim labels have been observing also suggest that the most sought-after jeans today don’t always reflect a longing for loungewear.
At Off Duty, a label that’s known for its wide variety of jeans, wide-legged styles are staging a comeback but the fabrics favoured, according to co-founder Madina Kirpalani, are still the same. “Given our lockdown habits, one might think that lightweight jeans are flying off the shelves. But, there’s an interesting phenomenon playing out. Heavy, thick denim is associated with durability and is seen as being premium, which is why it’s still in demand and unlikely to go out of style,” concludes Kirpalani, highlighting that while a shift towards breathable, and even sustainable denim is imminent, currently, a preference for jeans, which are crafted using sturdy fabrics, is still prevalent.
Conclusion
To sum up, for some, returning to jeans, even those which don’t feature the most flexible waistbands and fabrics, was easy, but for others, the switch hasn’t been quite as straightforward. Many still seek variations of the basic, which allow them to keep the lessons that they learnt during the pandemic close.
Where do you sit on this spectrum? We’d love to know your thoughts.
Team denim!