Saturday, Fourth of July weekend, lakeside with friends. Voices nearby are discussing the suddenly unsettled state of Western politics-in France, the UK, here in the US. Me, I'm gazing at drifting clouds, wondering what's going on with pants.
We all have our ways of processing the world. The pastoral setting had put me in mind of Jonathan Anderson's fall 2024 Loewe show-its countrymanor-through-the-looking-glass vibe. One striking thing about that collection was its smorgasbord of trouser silhouettes: balloon-shaped cargos; swishy harem pants; one style I can best describe as "überjodhpurs"explosive volume through the thigh, tapered at the waist and calf. This is a very incomplete list.
Anderson wasn't the only designer running the pants gamut this season. At Bottega Veneta, they came stovepipe, tulip shape, cropped flare, slouchy. Chemena Kamali's Chloé debut ranged from knit short-shorts to fringed leather jeans that transformed into teardrops of chiffon.
Elsewhere, designers were decisive: Sabato De Sarno, at Gucci, was all about shorts. At Sacai, Chitose Abe showed zero pants, but all her looks were styled with "pantaboots," as my colleague Nicole Phelps dubbed them: over-the-knee boots resembling trouser legs. A bracing idea, but perhaps the most divisive item on the runway, pants-wise, for fall, was Miu Miu's low-slung skinny jean, appearing like the ghost of 2004 to jolt us out of our bagginess. Meanwhile, around the time these shows were afoot, Kristen Stewart was on her press tour for Love Lies Bleeding, and mostly wearing no pants at all.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
WOMAN TO WOMAN
Chemena Kamali's debut for Chloé was notable most of all for the way it connected with so many. Chloe Schama meets the designer whose name is on everyone's lips.
In Wonderland
Coach creative director Stuart Vevers and husband Ben Seidler's country cottage on 40 rolling acres is filled with antiques, flea market finds and their gorgeous young twins.
SUPERNOVA
A searingly modern take on Sunset Boulevard, starring Nicole Scherzinger at the height of her powers, comes to the New York stage.
Mr. Happy
Kieran Culkin as electric an actor as he is a constitutionally ambivalent one-anchors the dark comic indie A Real Pain, and is leading Glengarry Glen Ross to Broadway. It's a lot to process.
SHAPE SHIFTER
Who is Lady Gaga now? A Hollywood superstar, a pop innovator, and a much happier, more grounded creature altogether. But as Jonathan Van Meter discovers, she's still an ever-evolving puzzle all her own. Photographed by Ethan James Green.
An Un-Still Life
The vibrant paintings of Hilary Pecis pulse with energy.
Giddyup Cup
The storied Austrian glassware maker Lobmeyr looks to the American West.
What's Going On With Pants?
The current (and oft-confusing) proliferation of them mirrors our lives today. By Maya Singer.
Full Flower
Erdem Moralioglu plants a new seed with his bloom-adorned bag.
Out of the Box
A biopic made from Legosfor Pharrell Williams.
