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Something was afoot this season. Multiple designers showed a directional style: the one-legged pant. A slim-leg iteration worn by Amelia Gray Hamlin at Coperni’s show, wide-leg versions styled under oversized tailoring at Bottega Veneta, and tapered one-leg pants in black and red worn beneath A-line mini dresses at Louis Vuitton.
The trend sparked an array of puns online, and divided opinions. “Designers have one foot in, one foot out,” one Instagram user commented under Vogue Runway’s José Criales-Unzueta’s post. “They’ve got a leg up on us,” joked another. “You’ve got to be pulling my leg,” another wrote. “The one-leg pant is just, well, a step too far,” The New York Times’s Vanessa Friedman jested in her SS25 trend roundup.
But when it comes to commercial potential, does the one-legged pants trend have legs?
“Each season, brands seek fresh approaches to tailoring. This time, we see Coperni embracing the trend in a more sensual way, while Bottega Veneta incorporates draping and layering for a more elevated take on the look,” says Mytheresa chief commercial and sustainability officer Richard Johnson.
“We have seen relaxed tailoring playing a significant part in trends for a few seasons now, and this season’s development continued to explore this look,” adds Poppy Lomax, head buying at Harrods. “Personally, I loved the Bottega option; it was powerful, sharp and had a twist of sexiness.”
Others note that the pace of the trend cycle is accelerating, and viral silhouettes or styling hacks are often just a flash in the pan — so they are staying on the fence about more niche trends.
“At first sight no, [I don’t believe it has commercial potential],” says Alix Morabito, womenswear buying and merchandising director at Galeries Lafayette. “But with the massive trend of shorts and with many eclectic designs coming out at the same time, we believe some fashion customers will dare enough to wear it. For the next season it will certainly be perceived as a very fashion-forward piece, but it can be integrated in a new clothes vocabulary if the trend persists.”
While it may seem like a fleeting trend, it’s not the first time brands have sent one-legged styles down the runway — in fact, the look seems to pop up every few years. In January 2019, Ukrainian designer Ksenia Schnaider’s half-flare, half-slim leg jeans went viral, followed by Seoul-based Pushbutton’s acid-washed one-legged style. Later that year, in September 2019, two designers (Di Du and Wesley Harriott) designed one-legged pants for talent incubator VFile’s spring 2020 show in partnership with Depop. Then, in 2022, Eckhaus Latta, Puppets and Puppets and Maryam Nassir Zadeh presented one-legged looks at their SS23 shows.
Some brands were early adopters, and are finding success with the style. Ukrainian emerging brand Frolov has been selling one-legged pants since 2022, driven by founder Ivan Frolov’s desire to break traditional silhouettes and explore asymmetry. The secret to selling them is creating something that offers more variety in styling and “makes an unexpected, bold look”, Frolov says. “Our one-legged pants have performed exceptionally well with customers, and I believe the key to their success is the versatility we offer. We provide various ways to wear and pair the pants, making them super adaptable.”
The iteration we’re seeing this season is a play on the corpcore and office siren trends, which emerged towards the end of last year, spotted at both Prada and Fendi for AW24. SS25 takes this play on officewear a step further, reflecting a more buttoned-down mood for the season (Boss entitled its show ‘out of office’).
Asymmetry is here to stay
Even a short-lived trend can give rise to a new one. Take the panties trend, for instance, which has now developed to the lingerie-as-clothing look for SS25. “I believe the one-leg pant is inspired by the “only wearing stockings” trend we observed in 2024, where the bottom of the outfit becomes the main star, rather than the top,” says Frida Tordhag, fashion analyst at fashion trend forecasting platform Heuritech. “This, combined with an increase in basic pieces featuring asymmetrical designs, adds an interesting twist to styling.”
Asymmetrical styles will be part of Printemps’s assortment, Pupato says, as they are “always very desirable and customers like to have essential pieces with a modern twist”. “I think the trend is more about a new approach to pants than strictly a one-legged pants trend.”
There’s been an uptick in asymmetrical looks more broadly, observers note. Victoria Beckham showed one-armed blazers and suit pants with one leg slashed. At the Courrèges show, model Mona Tougaard walked the runway in a cut-out black dress, complete with an asymmetrical hem. Dior, meanwhile, presented an array of off-kilter necklines.
Trends like these often have commercial potential with the right styling and the right pricing, says Printemps’s Pupato. Buyers also agree that the key to making the one-legged look more wearable is the styling. A slimmer leg might work well for a night out, paired with a strappy top, while the look could be toned down by layering it under an oversized blazer à la Bottega Veneta, or with tights underneath, they say.
“[Asymmetry] works better when it is layered,” says Morabito.
Heuritech’s data projects a 53 per cent increase in asymmetrical necklines for summer 2025, driven by young consumers, primarily 16 to 25. “We can expect a lot of asymmetry for 2025 even though the one-leg pant might not be the star of it in terms of commercial potential,” says Tordhag. “The one-leg pant remains a niche item with limited mainstream appeal, suggesting its commercial potential is low. It is more suited for fashion-forward individuals who enjoy experimenting with dimensions and silhouettes rather than for the mainstream consumer. Instead, asymmetrical necklines in various tops and skirts will shine.”
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