If you think a year is a long time in politics, it’s even longer in the world of denim. Where once there was a universal shape that was ‘trendy’, now jeans of all shapes and sizes are enjoying moments in the saddle
Never has there been a more fickle or divisive piece of clothing.
Jeans, patented 152 years ago as workwear, have the power to make a wearer feel either on-trend or old fashioned, depending on their cut, wash and length and, most importantly, timing. As we bid farewell to 2025, it’s hard to decipher what exactly the jean of the year has been.
In April, Vogue declared baggy white jeans as a “spring staple”. By August, it was endorsing slim cigarette styles, but by December “straight-leg jeans – not baggy, not skinny, but that sweet spot in between,” were the new must-have. In November, GQ hailed a pair of vintage slim-cut Levi’s 501s worn by Ben Whishaw in Peter Hujar’s Day as the “Sexiest movie jeans of 2025”. Add to the mix viral carrot, horseshoe and stovepipe shapes and can anyone really keep up?
Amy Leverton, founder of Denim Dudes, a denim consultancy firm, says social media and a growth in competition have created greater choice. “Consumers have never been more in control of the narrative when it comes to fit trends,” she says. “The late 90s and early 00s were simpler times, where jean fits moved slowly, acted like a kind of ‘universal uniform’ and stuck around much longer.” Now, Leverton says, “the switch has flipped.”
