In London, Milan and Paris, designers filled their Spring/Summer 2024 collections with wearable denim.
The deconstructed, streetwear-inspired pieces that helped denim earn a spot on the runway prior to the pandemic have all but disappeared at global fashion weeks, giving way to tried-and-true blue jeans with minimal details.
Elisabetta Franchi, Yali, Calcaterra, Blaze Milano, Didu, Maje, Zimmermann and Chanel are among the labels that styled jeans with clean and clear indigo washes with bra tops, metallic jackets or double denim.
Gucci creative director Sabato De Sarno embraced the quiet luxury aesthetic by showing jeans with center creases and a slim Trucker jacket styled with a sleek patent leather skirt. Even Moschino dialed it back, pairing slouchy blue jeans with a black turtleneck knit top.
Embellishments showed restraint as well. Germanier applied child-like swatches of colorful beads to its stonewashed jeans and jackets. Thebe Magugu trimmed denim with eyelash lace, continuing a boudoir trend that ramped up at New York Fashion Week. Vaillant decorated jeans with white rose-shaped lace appliques as well. In her most sustainable collection to date, Stella McCartney showed jeans with crocheted legs and reflective discs. Colorful crochet also trimmed the pockets of Cavia’s patchwork cargo jeans.
Nostalgia inspired other collections. Benetton showed bleached miniskirts, vests, cargo shorts and chopped jackets with lime green knits. YProject applied the bleached look to house signatures like a voluminous jackets and denim joggers with stacked legs.
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Some brands offered outliers to denim’s new cleaned-up image, however.
Diesel’s creative director Glenn Martens continued to manipulate denim in eye-catching ways. Burnout denim was printed from the inside with the red Diesel logo, and zip-up denim and cargo pockets were held together by straps.
Philipp Plein also stayed true to its bold aesthetic with crystal-covered jeans, coordinates with furry denim textures and ripped skinny jeans with moto details.
Masha Popova experimented with dye and finishing processes to create jeans that look like they’ve been clawed by a wild animal. John Richmond shredded the front of jeans and denim maxi skirts. The thick white threads popped against the garments’ bright indigo hue. Ripped jeans from Rave Review were patched up with floral-printed fabric.