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May 18, 2023

Sayonara Skinny

Any rumors about the skinny-leg pant’s return after last fall’s round of menswear shows were certainly squashed this season as volumes returned in full force. “Gone are the slim silhouettes for

Any rumors about the skinny-leg pant’s return after last fall’s round of menswear shows were certainly squashed this season as volumes returned in full force.

“Gone are the slim silhouettes for summer,” said Simon Langland, head of menswear at Harrods in WWD’s buyers’ report from Milan. Back in? A focus on ease and proportion play.

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The swaggering suits Giorgio Armani introduced in the ’80s are experiencing a renaissance among younger generations who are engaging with dressier styles that still meet their demand for comfort.

For his spring show, Armani built outfits on the same loose, but gently tapered dress pants in lightweight, liquid and often lustrous fabrics, which WWD international editor Miles Socha observed were echoed in his Emporio Armani collection that paraded in Milan earlier in the week. Inspired by the Far East, those had a pajama-like quality. Some came decorated with ginkgo leaves, while others featured boxing-trunk waistbands as a nod to martial arts uniforms.

The prominence of skirts for men in recent seasons has also contributed to the rise of the ultra-wide leg pant, which can have a similar look.

At Kenzo, deep pleats added to the billowing effect of pants as they walked across Paris’ Passerelle Debilly bridge. ERL’s Eli Russell Linnetz hinged his retro-futuristic look on equally roomy versions. Sprinkled with sequins, glitter and rhinestones, these were more geared toward the skateboarding generation.

Elsewhere, JW Anderson went all-in on the exaggerated boot cut at Loewe with raised waistbands giving the torso what Socha called, “a crunched appearance,” while Dior‘s Kim Jones cropped his straight-cut trousers to ankle length, showing off white socks and thick-soled loafers that Paris bureau chief Joelle Diderich wrote, “added a dash of London attitude.”

Even the humble jean went supersized for spring. Vetements’ Guram Gvasalia, who shares his brother Demna’s penchant for oversize streetwear, looked to Martin Margiela’s “La Mode Du XXL” collection for fall 2000, leading to mega styles that puddled into elephant legs. Similar, albeit less extreme, versions also showed up at Isabel Marant, Etro and Luu Dan.

Launch Gallery: Men’s Spring 2023 Trend: Billowy Pants

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