Where did flare trousers come from? A brief history.
Did you know that a presence of the romantic female flared trousers we owe to the manly, testosterone-dripping sailors? That’s right! First flares appeared in the mid 19th century thanks to the US Navy soldiers who donned loose-fitting trousers, widening from knee down.
The genuine glory days of the pants fall for 60s and 70s though, when flares first came into sight through controversial scenic artists and female go-go dancers.
Such artists promulgated extremely wide and gauzy trousers, also known as loon pants or balloon pants, which accented thighs and buttocks, while their broadening silhouette downwards followed dancer's movement.
Their unpopularity actually aided in their spread amidst those contesting the current rules and conservative morality by the American hippie movement. Therefore, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin from the Club 27 will always remain the symbols of the balloon pants revolution.
With the emergence of the punk rock era, flares were ousted from commercial fashion until the late 90s, when the 10-year Renaissance began. During this time those trousers slightly reduced their volume with just a minor flare at the ankles. However, over time flare trousers gained more and more volume just like a balloon that had to burst at the end of the first decade of the 21st century when leggings and spray-on jeans returned to the runways.
Flares in designers’ collections
Although the sense of fashion from 2000-2010 is very often a subject of mockery, trendsetters would erase this period from the pages of fashion history forever, we can’t help the impression that more and more motifs from this unpopular time are unnoticeably penetrating into modern trends. How to explain silk underwear tops trimmed with lace being used as daily outfit, in-demand corsets, ubiquitous belts and finally recurring flare pants? Maybe those trousers are still 70s fashion tones echoing in world’s collections?
For all that, designers are increasingly deciding to significantly widen pants’ legs and offer their renditions of the bell-bottom trousers. Clare Waight Keller from See by Chloe inspired by the style of Las Vegas from the 70s prepared cropped, ankle-length trousers with a leg widening downwards. A very similar subtle design can be found in Osman’s collection, where the designer presented a fresh look on pants juxtaposed with a double-breasted suit including jacket with voile shoulders. The calf-length pants with flared legs can also be found in the T by Alexander Wang collection. An interesting variation on the subject was presented by Isabel Marant, who sewn a delicate and jaunty frill on the narrow, close-fitting legs.
Wide-legged trousers
A collections from world-renowned designers are abundant with considerably more voluminous pieces - wide-legged trousers. This cut differs from the classic flare pants in that the leg extends downward from the hip, not the knee. It seems that designers focusing on roomy leg forms, wanted to free female figure and give it comfortableness and air to breath. Soft and light fabrics from which they are made, should emphasize the sensual movement of the body.
This season, Sonia Rykiel has presented various shades and forms of super wide-leg trousers. The whole collection is dominated by wide and weightless legs finished with a signature half-calf white backstitching visible from afar. Tomas Mainer also alluded to this design by making black and white maxi pants - both in width and length.
In the mentioned silhouettes these pants flow freely down the ground, leaning on the toes of the model. A worth noting proposal of the design was also submitted by Olivier Rousteing for Balmain who decided to include a mid-thigh cut going down the side to the ground thus giving it a curious, lively shape. Massive and bulky flares have also been proposed by fashion icons Kendall + Kylie Jenner.
