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Welcome To The Cargo Jean 2.0
As Noughties nostalgia rages on, the denim cargo pant has returned
There was a time, not so long ago, where the mere mention of cargo jeans would've sent a shiver racing down fashion editors’ spines.
This is a style of denim most associated with the trends of yesteryear, when jeans hung low and tops were blink-and-you'll-miss-them levels of barely-there. Popularised by all manner of famous faces in the Noughties, the denim cargo pant was the mainstay of that bygone era. But, just like that, the reign of the cargo jean was over – and in swept the skinny jean to take its place.
Until suddenly, the boyish charm of denim cargos reared its head like the ghost of Christmas past. At the spring/summer shows last year, cargo pants were introduced in pretty pastels and cool cottons; by the time the autumn/winter collections swung around, they’d been reimagined in dark and inky shades of denim. And for SS24, the trend only gained traction, with the likes of Ralph Lauren, Versace and The Attico debuting the trend's polished new persona. We were compelled to take note: this was the denim cargo 2.0, and it was cool in a way it hadn’t been before.
In the months following fashion’s reintroduction to the denim cargo pant, Net-A-Porter noted that searches for ‘cargo jeans’ spiked on the site, while TikTok has similarly confirmed the denim cargo pants’ return to the fore. The hashtag #CargoJeans has been viewed more than 480 million times on the app, with users waxing lyrical about how to wear theirs with fitted T-shirts and tops for evening and loose knits for a modern take on daytime chic.
Browns Fashion’s Womenswear Buyer, Mia Notley, is one of the cargo jeans’ devotees. ‘Agolde’s Vivian jeans are the perfect pair, she says. 'I love the ones in the darker colourways with the chunky silver hardware to give a more edgy feel.'
As for how to wear these larger-than-life jeans in real life? The Copenhagen street style set has offered a sartorial schooling for such matters. At February's SS24 shows, they paired OTT denim cargo pants with chunky cowboy boots and oversized bomber jackets, doubling down on the scaled-up proportions to ensure maximum impact.
These are the cargo jeans we’ve got bookmarked (and you, no doubt, will too).
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