FW22 Denim Trends: baggy looks, medium washes and a laced-up front for men

Writing in the New York Times, Vanessa Friedman stated that, "Though the pandemic did indeed briefly cast a shadow over jeans ... that cloud has largely dispersed. In January, Levi’s reported a 29 percent growth in net revenues in 2021 and said the upward trend was expected to continue."

Denim is Transversal

When Friedman interviewed Glenn Martens, the creative director of Diesel, he said, “Denim has this unique quality of being totally transversal. The perception of the exact same garment will change depending on what you pair it with.” This has been the case during the FW22 season. Designers used denim to create a variety of looks from casual to the avant-garde, often within the same collection. Nowhere was this better illustrated than at the Loewe menswear show.

In amongst a series of infinitely wearable straight-legged jeans in a medium wash, designer Jonathan Anderson showed denim jackets converted into shorts and jeans converted into belts.

In New York, No Sesso designers Pia Davis and Autumn Randolph showed denim pieces designed in collaboration with Levi’s. For men there was a denim jacket with baggy matching jeans in a medium wash. Both had zippered details. There was also a statement piece: denim jackets were transformed into a dress with a dramatic laced-up front.

At Diesel, creative director Glenn Martens took the brand back to its denim-rich roots. The looks for men ran the gamut.

There were faded ripped up jeans with sheer tees, layered looks in different washes, dead-stock Diesel T-shirt jersey bonded onto denim jeans and other items and floor-sweeping denim ‘fur’ coats made by the company’s artisans.

The Canadian Tuxedo

A denim jacket twinned with matching jeans was a favored nineties/aughties' favorite and nicknamed the 'Canadian tuxedo.' At 8igb the jacket was cropped and the jeans were studded with clear rivets. Louis Vuitton's version was shown in a dark wash.

Other designers took the concept to a whole new level showing head to toe denim looks that included layers in the same or in contrasting washes.

Layered Denim

At Kenzo, Nigo showed a dark wash denim look that included a jacket, vest, pants and oversized beret. At David Catalan, a jacket and shirt were both shown in a medium wash but the pants had pieced-in pale washed sections cut diagonally.

Cargo Pockets

Cargo pocket jeans that slipped down to expose boxer shorts beneath, as seen at Alled-Martinez, is another Y2K trope that has emerged this season.