You don’t need us to tell you that Rihanna is one of those superstars that can make just about anything look cool. She is a true fashion risk-taker and is one of the few that put the fun back in fashion: Just in recent weeks she’s been spotted in clashing animal prints, footless tights, and even Y2K-style velour tracksuits. But her latest statement piece introduces a whole new fashion statement for the fall season. . . meet the skean (that’s skirt-jean).
Hear us out. Last night in Paris, Rihanna emerged from dinner at Cesar wearing a pair of jeans that were extremely Frankensteinian. From the left, they look like a totally normal pair of light-wash jeans—but from the right, they feature a long additional floor-length panel, almost like it’s a skirt. Hence the term: Skean. Given how head-turning the bold piece is, she styled them minimally, finishing off the look with a black zip-up hoodie, a leather Dior bag, and Miu Miu snakeskin sneakers.
Photo: Splash News
Such an unconventional approach to denim so happens to be majorly runway-approved. This past fall season, there have been many unexpected approaches to reworking classic jeans. Diesel made denim briefs(!), while A.W.A.K.E. Mode had backwards jean shirt-dresses, and Stella McCartney showed us bejeweled jeans. The approach for fall is all about subverting regular jeans and making them a little more twisted and, well, weird. But the skirt-jean is certainly the most intriguing new proposition we’ve seen brought to the mix. Leave it to Ri …
A quick survey online, however, shows that a few brands are already dialing into the skean look. There are these Bettter jeans with a built-in denim wrap skirt, or these Agolde jeans with an attached denim peplum skirt. Maybe Rihanna is simply ahead of the curve here, as we would expect. Because when the superstar starts rocking something, it never takes long before it catches on as a full-on global trend. So you heard it here first, folks: Buckle up for a skean fall!