Beware! Y2K’S most divisive trousers are back
A FRIENDLY WORD of advice as we enter the new season: mind your step because something ominous awaits in the form of ultra-baggy trousers that pool at the feet. If you dare to wear them, you’re just one mistimed hem tread away from face-planting the pavement. Puddles must also be approached with caution, because what is on the floor one minute is up your leg the next. And while you’re at it, avoid proximity to others, unless soggy, ripped trousers are your idea of a stylish time.
If they’re not, you don’t know what you’re missing. Some of you can’t relate to the covetous envy evoked by watching All Saints on Top Of The Pops in Carhartt cargos and Timberland boots. Some of you have not spent your formative years hoisting up the waistband of too-big cords, bought in the hopes of ensnaring a passing Sk8er Boi. Well it shows.
Thankfully though, this is 2022 and you share this planet with Rihanna almost outshining her own Chanel-clad bump with jeans so capacious they cover her entire feet. And you have stuck around long enough to witness Bella, Hailey and Emrata wear something that you won’t be arrested for trying: commodious cargo pants.
Rightly or not, every other Y2K trend has had a twirl around the zeitgeist in the past couple of years, so let baggy trousers have their moment again. Now, as then, proportion is key. The bigger the trousers, the smaller the top.
Shrunken vests, corsets and tight tees are your friend. Consider them also the perfect partner to that other late ’90s/early ’00s relic: the visible thong. Can’t you just smell the Gucci Rush and taste the Blue WKD already?
FOR OVER 30 YEARS there’s rarely been a film premiere, VIP afterparty or glitzy awards night that celebrity photographer Dave Benett hasn’t attended, camera in hand. Thanks to his charm – and knack for making the A-list look amazing no matter how hard they’ve been partying – he’s one of the most trusted photographers in the business, on first name terms with royalty and supermodels alike. As a new exhibition celebrates his incredible career, he reflects on some of his most iconic images.
‘I’ve photographed Kate and Naomi countless times over the years; building that trust is integral to the job. This picture was also taken at the Diamonds Are Forever
party at Syon House – parties were definitely more rock’n’roll back in the ’90s.’