The match skirt+trousers in the history of fashion

Marc Jacobs returns in style on the catwalks with a collection that plays with excesses, exaggerated volumes and oversized fit combined with monogram prints, but above all with the combination of skirt + trousers, combining flare trousers with jeweled skirts. Marc Jacobs has already been a pioneer of the trend in the past: the combination has been recurring in his collections since the beginning, in 2012 curved lines of structured skirts and straight lines of classic cigarette pants intersect creating the optical effect of a broken hourglass.

Marni in its Pre-Fall 2021 brings the controversial trend of the nineties back into the spotlight, this time with Edwardian-style dandy pants, tartan patterns with raw hem, heavy make-up, a luminous boa around to the neck. Francesco Risso perfectly combines haute couture and punk taste by interpreting the layered look in an outfit that could dress Tim Curry in Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The birth of the skirt+trousers match

Whether it is a much-loved combination of street style celebrities and the most daring it-girls during fashion weeks, the overlay of the two garments is never part of the common imagination and we rarely see anyone show it off on the streets. Yet wearing a skirt or dress over pants is nothing new. In traditional Indian clothing men and women wear a kurta or kurti, a kind of long tunic over matching trousers or even jeans, while in Vietnam a similar outfit is called aò dai.

Even in the West, in the United States of the 1800s, the trend made its way into everyday life through long baggy pants worn under tunics or dresses that allowed women greater mobility than the restrictive dresses and petticoats of the time. Later in the 20th century it was in vogue to wear pajamas consisting of a robe-like tunic overlaid with wide pants, the ensemble was meant to be worn at home and it was particullarly appreciated by Hollywood ladies like Lucille Ball and Ginger Rogers.

The look on the runways

Among the first to transpose the combination on the catwalks of high fashion is Vivienne Westwood, who almost makes an aesthetic manifest at the base of the brand from the combination of skirt+pants in total tartan. Chanel also explores the overlap and is among the first maison in the SS13 to combine patent leather boots with a very high leg, visually comparable to tight-fitting leather pants with a glam-rock taste, with cheeky mini skirts.

2016 is the year: Etro proposes the combination with soft nuances and embroideries with an oriental taste, Galliano and Lanvin in a minimal and tomboy style with double-breasted blazers, in a fun key with sequins for Isabel Marant and MSGM, romantic with puffs and floral prints for Simone Rocha and Brock Collection, in nylon for Opening Ceremony, a punk version with a midi skirt in tulle in vibrant colors for Undercover, in plum brocade for Dries Von Noten. Alexander Wang in 2019 presents an iconic skirt-trouser model in black lace and silk that looks like petrol on the catwalk and in the same year Schiaparelli combines biker shorts and capri pants under structured skirts, while JW Anderson proposes a preppy chic version with check print and jewel belt to complete the look

But it is in 2020 that the trend reinvents itself once again, becoming the last frontier of genderfluid fashion and promoting that idea of ​​an inclusive and open society of which fashion has often made itself a manifest.

In confirmation of thisthe latest fashion shows of two of the coolest and most popular brands of the moment, Sunnei and Chopova Lowena, who interpret the combination in a modern and original way in SS21. The latter shows models in tartan print midi skirts decorated with studs, chunky belt and rings at the waist, while Sunnei presents an oversized, minimal model with neutral tones, reminiscent of traditional Indian dresses.

How to wear it?

Among the fans of the combo we can also find well-known characters of the star system who have distinguished themselves over the years for their eccentric and carefree aesthetics on the red carpet and on stage, such as Harry Styles, Billy Porter, Lil Nas X and the 1975 frontman, Matty Healy. Perhaps this time the trend is here to stay, making the definitive leap from the catwalks of high fashion to the metropolitan streets, no longer reminding us of the nightmare combination of the 90s, but becoming a symbol of coolness and equality in the common imagination.