Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance on Feb. 9th made history with 127.7 million viewers. Lamar’s show made headlines for various reasons, however, many chose to focus on the pair of jeans he was wearing. The public quickly took to social media to praise his look, sparking my curiosity about how a pair of jeans were going viral, and how other celebrities were embracing this trend. Denim, particularly denim jeans, have been popular among stylists as they can be dressed up or down. This led me to look at Lamar’s style along with other celebrities.
Lamar has been working with the stylist, Taylor McNeil since 2020—the same stylist that Timothee Chalamet uses. McNeil is a celebrity stylist, a creative consultant and best known as an editor for Vogue. Lamar stands at 5’6” so he has slightly shorter legs than the average male, which was no issue for Lamar as he rocked Celine women’s Marco Jeans in Dark Union Wash, were supposedly originally meant for Chalamet to wear. It’s not confirmed why Chalemet almost wore the jeans but it is most likely that he’d wear it to an event or purchase them for himself. The women’s jeans were originally ideal for Lamar as they are typically shorter than men’s jeans. However, these jeans are not his typical size, as he normally wears a size 33. The stylist gave him a size 29, but they seemed to fit him well onstage. When it came to the Super Bowl, McNeil had to think of Lamar’s height, so the bootcut style, a popular cut seen on the 2025 fall and spring 2025 runways was the right choice.
So while Lamar brought the heat with his form-fitting denim, there are other celebrities that are also on the denim train. For example, Pharrell Williams has also tapped into the flare jeans look as the men’s Creative Director for Louis Vuitton. He has designed a flare style for Louis Vuitton for the runway. However, bootcut and flare are very different: flare has a “[dramatic] kick out at the knee [… while bootcut adopts] a more straight-legged silhouette with a less exaggerated flare below the knee.” Jeans are supposed to create a “silhouette” on your legs whether that’s baggy, tight, or in between. While the baggy look has been a large trend for over the past 5 years, there might be a switch back to more form-fitting silhouettes in the future.
Alix Earle, a TikTok influencer and podcaster, has helped bring the skinny jeans back in style with her collaboration with the iconic jeans brand, Frame back in January. According to CNBC, “The week after Earle debuted her skinny jean partnership with Frame, searches for skinny jeans were up 50%.” Additionally, according to Heuritech, a company that uses artificial intelligence to predict trends, anticipated that “sales of wide-leg jeans [are] to decline 3% over the next year, while slim and straight-leg jeans are expected to grow 2% and 4%, respectively.”
With many pieces of evidence showing the rise of “slim fit trousers,” from runways to celebrities, I wouldn’t donate your skinny jeans just yet. In terms of styling a form-fitting leg, Jen Foyle, American Eagle’s president explained in an interview with CNBC that a new trend is emerging where high boots are becoming a key element of styling. The combination of high boots with skinny jeans is especially catching on. Another way to style a skinny jean is with a heel for a chic look, which can be seen in Alix Earle’s Frame advertisement. As for bootcut and flare jeans, celebrities like Bella Hadid have also rocked this look. Hadid is a horse rider in her spare time, so she styles her jeans typically with a western boot and a belt. If boots aren’t your thing or you don’t have them a sneaker can do just as good of a job.
British Vogue gave some ideas on how to style a denim look from head to toe. I found that with these looks you don’t have to wear every item of clothing together-you can pick one or two or even mix and match. Take note that the author uses a specific colour when styling bootcut jeans. You will most likely find one or more of these items in your wardrobe. Check out the article here!
Below are items to give your some outfit inspiration for the denim days ahead! These are more affordable than the ones linked in the British Vogue article above.
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Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl look was the cherry on top for 2025’s newest denim trend. The popularity seems to stem from the fact that the silhouette can be dressed up or down, seen from Alix Earl’s kitten heel to Bella Hadid’s western boots. Men and women can experiment with these cuts to create different styles and explore their personal fashion style. I know for now that I’m looking forward to seeing more denim looks!