Modetrendanalyse: de ‘barrel’ broek

Paris (France) – The ‘barrel’ pants, also called “tonneau” (barrel-shaped) in French or “clown”, seemed to have little chance outside the catwalks with their unique, convex fit. Yet trousers have recently become an integral part of everyday fashion for both women and men.

“The ready-to-wear has turned it into an iconic item that stands to replace flared jeans,” Bryan Ferreira, style journalist for GQ magazine, explained to AFP.

Every decade has its own jeans: the seventies the flared jeans, the eighties the ‘mom jeans’ (high waist, relaxed fit), the nineties the baggy pants (wide everywhere) and the 2010s the ‘skinny’ and stretch jeans. Since 2020, trouser fits have become more liberal. The decade is now clearly all about volume and breadth.

“It is an important silhouette for fabric developers, who clearly see this trend of comfort and volume,” explains denim consultant Julieta Mercerat.

“We have felt for two seasons that people want to break with minimalism. This has neutralized fashion for a number of years, erased traces of personal or cultural expression and made the search for style uniform,” she analyzes for AFP.

The new balloon-shaped fit first appeared in the autumn-winter 2023-2024 show of fashion house Alaïa. Then the trend exploded on social media thanks to Jacquemus, the favorite stylist of Gen Z (the generation born between 1995 and 2010).

Bestseller

The balloon jeans are a model with a normal or high waist. Instead of falling straight, the trousers are maximally rounded at the thighs and knees and tighten again towards the ankle, as if the leg forms a hook. Its predecessor or distant cousin is the ‘Oxford bag’, the oversized baggy trousers from the 1920s, or the sarouel trousers.

Seen from the side, the trouser leg does not run straight down, but bends slightly, like the wall of a barrel. Hence the name. “It immediately gives a graphic effect, making the garment a style item,” stylist Coppelia Mandin of the creative agency Good Sisters, specialized in dressing French actresses, explained to AFP.

The ‘barrel’ trousers were first a success on Instagram before appearing in the windows of ready-to-wear. “However, it is a divisive style. When it was first posted on Instagram, the opinions were very strong. That’s when we understood that we had created a bestseller!”, summarizes Marianne McDonald, artistic director of the Californian jeans label Citizens Of Humanity, in Vogue.

The expert in sustainable jeans, Julieta Mercerat, also notes that the ‘barrel’ does not contain elastane – a highly polluting ingredient. This is in contrast to straight or skinny fits, which makes the trousers ecologically more interesting.

Devils

According to French stylist Coppelia Mandin, although the barrel-shaped pants are not for everyone, “it deconstructs the body and also makes it possible to hide the legs a little.” In terms of outerwear, you should keep it simple: “something quite simple and fitted, a simple white T-shirt for example. Because the trousers become tighter at the bottom, you can opt for something elegant on the feet, such as ballerinas or pumps,” the expert advises. Fashion columnist Sabrina Champenois from Libération sees a trend in these trousers that is ‘almost devilish’.

“Because to comply with the prevailing standard, you must respect a contrast in proportions: be as slim as the garment is wide,” she writes. In doing so, she confirms that it is a fashion reserved for bodies that meet current criteria.

Barrel-shaped trousers have taken an unexpected place among men. Stars on the red carpet are enthusiastic about it and the trousers even replace the eternal trousers.

“Granted, the wide fit isn’t for everyone. But for the man who’s tired of the straight fit or isn’t ready for the ultra-wide style, barrel pants offer a particularly elegant compromise,” notes GQ magazine.