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Skinny Jeans Are Not Over Yet, According To These Models

skinny jeans gigi hadid

Gigi Hadid in New York, December 12th 2016. Getty

Yesterday supermodel and Vogue cover girl Gigi Hadid wore two different looks in 24 hours that both hinged on black skinny jeans. Across the pond in London, Kate Moss was seen in her usual urban uniform of spray-on-look denim, shaggy fur coat, and signature gold earrings. They hit refresh on the fashion denim debate; perhaps skinny jeans aren’t officially over?

skinny jeans gigi hadid

Gigi Hadid in New York, December 12th 2016. Getty

Taylor Hill proves to be another advocate for the skinny. Hill sported 2% Lycra skinny jeans en route to the airport, as did Moroccan model and J.W.Anderson muse Nora Attal during fashion month. The silhouette-skimming jean trend clearly has some style mileage left after all.

If you consider the denim revolution that has taken place in the past 12 months, this might be surprising. Vetements, the brand with in-built millennial magnetism, is a key player in the revival of the reworked 100% cotton jean look. They sit rigidly on the body, oozing cool appeal. The Vetements version features a razored step customised hem, and contrast denim panels which made it a fashion week favorite for two show seasons. At US $1004, AED/SAR 3766 a pair, it’s a statement worth making all year.

Instagram/Nora Attal

The resurgence in interest towards classic, androgynous, utility-like jeans, such as the Lady Levi’s (a 1950s original style seen on Betty Grable) and the Levi’s 505s have been duly noted. As worn by Gilda Ambrosio of Attico as well as Pernille Teisbaek to great effect. The borrowed-boy look is the polar opposite to the cult of the skinny.

kate moss skinny jeans

Kate Moss wearing her signature black skinny jeans in London, December 12th 2016. Getty

The long, lean, libertine look that fashion houses such as Dsquared2, Balmain, Dolce & Gabbana, and Helmut Lang  produced in many different washes, have been bestsellers for the best part of a decade. In 2014, skinny jeans took up 75% of the sales in the $108 billion dollar jean industry, according to Euromonitor, and overall premium denim sales are anticipated to grow in the Gulf region, especially for brands such as Levi’s, Guess, and Replay.

Debbie Harry Levi's jeans

Debbie Harry wearing tight and high Levi’s 505s on stage in the Seventies. Getty

But the fashion circuit has started to look to Marques’Almeida, Tome, Ellery, and Off-White for jeans with shape, flared proportions or outlandish customisation (think frays, folds, and patchwork) to contradict the reign of the skinny jean. Debbie Harry and Jane Birkin are the celebrated no-stretch jean pin-ups that Caroline De Maigret and Lily Alridge have gravitated towards. Harry wore a handsome collection of tight and high Levi’s 505s on stage throughout the ‘70s––a look that has made business boom for LA-based brand ReDone, who rework vintage denims to modern edge for the likes of Kendall Jenner.

Instagram/Taylor Hill

Meanwhile, to contradict the entire direction of the denim conversation, Gigi Hadid, Taylor Hill and co. have gone against the grain, slipped into a pair of ‘so over’ skinnys to prove (once again) that there’s nothing cooler than rebelling against the status quo.

Is the skinny jean over? Take your opinion to Twitter @VogueArabia

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