Evening Standard - ES Magazine
HEDI SLIMANE AND THE RESURRECTION OF SUPER SKINNY JEANS
We have a very particular Y2K style to thank for the prevalence of loose-fitting trousers today, and many of us breathed a collective sigh of relief when this cut replaced the long-standing fashion for skinny jeans. ‘But wait! Not so fast,’ says Hedi Slimane. In Celine’s SS23 collection, which debuted in St-Tropez, Slimane resurrected his ‘original skinny jeans’, celebrating Noughties indie in all its glory. This drainpipe style is low-rise, cut in either black or blue Japanese denim — or supple leather for full-on rocker — and created to be worn tucked in to biker boots or paired with ballerina flats, Mary Janes or T-bar pumps: yes, you heard us correctly. The show was also soundtracked by Pete Doherty and Carl Barât of The Libertines, long-time collaborators with the designer, who performed a version of ‘Music When the Lights Go Out’. It makes perfect sense for Slimane to be riding the wave of a renewed cultural interest in all things indie sleaze, a movement London arguably gave birth to. For younger generations who long to have witnessed nights out at The Hawley Arms or Madame Jojos, Celine’s wispy scarves, sailor hats, micro denim shorts, Breton stripes — and extremely tight trousers — will let you live the fantasy.