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Miniskirts have dominated our style consciousness for several seasons, but designers have started to make a welcome move away from hitched hemlines. If images of a denim-clad Britney Spears or Jennifer Aniston come to mind at the mention of a denim maxi-skirt, you’re on the wrong track. This season is about chic, form-fitting styles that are made to flatter anybody and everybody—from 5ft to 6ft and beyond.
Every season, designers entice us with new ways to wear jeans and fresh denim jackets to dream about, but the recent shows were all about longline maxis. The best hemlines seen at the spring 2023 collections were those that traced the floor, therefore elongating the body.
While most of the catwalks were pristine – meaning minimal skirt dirt was picked up along the way—Balenciaga showed in an apocalyptic mud pit. You can guess what the dark-wash denim maxis looked like after the finale.
So long as you avoid muddy terrain, you can willfully embrace lengthy styles like Burberry’s über-high-waist maxi and the distressed skirts seen at MM6 Maison Margiela and GCDS. Clean floors are required for Masha Popova and Stefan Cooke’s takes, too—the former presented low-rise ruffled iterations and the latter debuted textured genderless styles that were worn with hoodies, knits and jackets.
As models demonstrated at the shows, denim maxis offer endless styling opportunities. Street-stylers were clearly inspired by what they saw on the catwalks. Scandi influencer Pernille Teisbaek has been wearing maxi-skirts non-stop this year, including a style from Ganni—which she wore with a backless top—and an acid-wash style that she wore with a Chanel tweed jacket to the maison’s recent spring 2023 show.
Emili Sindlev and Caro Daur packed their best denim for the shows too, and wore double-denim from Ganni (the same skirt as Pernille) and a treated oxblood maxi from Acne Studios respectively. As for Yoyo Cao? She’s also a fan of Acne Studios’s DIY denim offering and wore a patchwork maxi in Paris.
Denim maxi skirts are a hardworking everyday staple, but they work just as well for evening outings—just look to Gigi Hadid for inspiration. The super has worn two divisive denim maxis of late: she attended the Fashion Media Awards in new season Jade Cropper—comprising a raw-edged denim maxi and a crop top—and arrived at her sister Bella’s birthday in frothy vintage Roberto Cavalli.
Willing to make room in your wardrobe for a denim maxi? Scroll on for our pick of the standout styles available now.
