4 Denim Trends Breaking Fashion Tiers from Luxury to Streetwear

The lines that segment fashion into well-defined categories have long been blurred. Activewear has crossed into tailoring. Loungewear influences workwear and the traditional norms that once distinguished men’s and women’s fashion are nearly unknown to the youngest generations of consumers.

Last week at Kingpins Amsterdam, Ana Paula Alves, founder of the trend forecasting firm Be Disobedient, explained how the walls are breaking down even further.

“The tiers are gone,” she said, pointing to COS ranking No. 3 on last year’s Lyst—positioned between Miu Miu and Ralph Lauren.

Alves noted Kenzo artistic director Nigo’s coveted collaboration with Japanese convenience store FamilyMart and H&M’s luxury-inspired store concept in Shanghai as other proof that brands now operate fluidly across levels. She also highlighted how designers like Glenn Martens and Jonathan Anderson can reinterpret a source of inspiration, tailoring it to distinct audiences and brand identities while maintaining sharply contrasting aesthetics.

“We have to understand that the brands should be elastic without losing the core identity,” she said.

This border-less approach to design is evident in Alves’ forecast comprised of four themes: Denim Archeology, Denim Abundance, Denim Everyday and Denim Virals. Each theme traverses between mass to luxury and every category in between.

Denim Archeology is inspired by the collector, researcher and vintage enthusiast. Here, fabrics are scraped, scratched, patched, bleached, ripped and painted to signify the passage of time. Felting techniques give fabrics a time-worn texture. Brown and yellow tints create aged effects, while deep, repeated creasing helps shape garments. Taping doubles as a functional and visual element, and constructions have depth. Threads hang loose from the hems of jeans.

After several seasons of clean denim, Alves described breaks on the first layer of garments, exposing the underlying weave without fully tearing through. Others reveal layers of contrasting patterns and materials.

Denim Abundance is a theme where jeans are valuable masterpiece. “It’s about abundance. It’s not about excess,” Alves said, noting how embroidery, embellishment, velvet, lace, sculptural volume and elevated closures transform denim into status pieces.

Denim with velvet gradient effects in blue, lace overlays and voluminous wide-leg silhouettes that use up to 60 percent more fabric than standard fits help tell this regal story. Fur trim, tapestry, poetic collars with ruffles, portrait-inspired belt buckles and heritage-inspired trims add a historical vibe to pieces. 

There’s also a focus on hourglass silhouettes with pannier-like constructions on skirts and dresses and the return of the bar jacket—a sculptural denim jacket with expanded volume at the hem.

Denim Everyday focuses on “user-friendly” jeans for all-day wear. “The value is in smart basics, reliable constructions and technical finishes,” Alves said.

Collegiate styling is a thorough line in the story, evident in bomber jacket silhouettes, pops of red, sporty stripes and sticker-like graphics. Hybrid styles mix denim with fleece and sweats. Military-inspired denim jackets with rigid structures and metal hardware add a more serious vibe.

There’s an emphasize on modular designs with reconfigurable zipper systems and detachable pieces. Square pockets, reinforced stitching and reinforced knees also speaks to function.

The trend calls for colored denim in green, brown, gray, black, white and a French workwear color that Alves describes as “accessible blue.”

The color palette for Denim Virals is more exuberant and youthful with lilac purples, high-visibility pink, limeade and orange.

Alves described how black-and-white prints with a photocopied feel, Japanese and Chinese-inspired graphics and animal prints transform basic jeans into pieces worthy of going viral online.

Diesel’s denim tights and Acne Studio’s all-in-one boot pants deliver a touch of surrealism, while key silhouettes include short shorts, miniskirts and jeans with unexpected openings and cutouts.

Novelties like horse motifs and trinkets, teen-inspired graphics and teddy bear-like textures keep the trend youthful. The theme also calls for high-shine elements, from all-over clear sequin embellishments to clear, metallic and chrome coatings.