Skinny jeans are ‘never going away’ despite pandemic squeeze on sales

Don’t throw away your skinny jeans just yet! Even though the pandemic saw fashion moving towards a more comfortable, loose-fitting look, Levi Strauss & Co chief executive Chip Bergh said that he believes skinny jeans are never going away.

Despite a 12% year-over-year drop in revenue in the recent holiday quarter, frequent predictions that skinny jeans are going out of style, and growing popularity of looser fits, Bergh reassured investors on recent conference call that the style is here to stay.

Lockdown fashion: Resurgence of baggy jeans

Bergh said in the meeting that the industry was seeing a resurgence of baggy jeans as clothing trends towards comfortable and casual options amid the pandemic and that the loose fit line of jeans for men and women last season that Levi’s launched in 2020 was “off to a very very fast start”.

However, he also reiterated that skinny jeans would continue to be a popular style with women, despite the baggy trend.

“I don’t think skinny jeans are ever going away on the women’s side of the business, despite a clear trend towards casual, looser fitting clothes in general. I think they are here to stay.”

Chip Bergh, Levi Strauss & Co chief executive

The ‘skinny jean is dead’?

The who’s who in the fashion world — from glossies to influencers — have been predicting the end of skinny jeans for years. In March 2020, Cosmo advised readers towards straight-legged fits, while Elle declared “The skinny jean is dead” in July. And this death-knell was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic leaving people at home. Who wants to squeeze into a pair of skinny jeans for a Zoom meeting?

According to the self-proclaimed “global leader in denim by a mile”, skinny jeans will be here to stay as long as denim is popular. However, as the pandemic continues to play a central role in daily life and the fashion industry turns towards casual and loungewear, the future of jeans themselves is murky.