Jean Files: All the Best Denim Looks from the Fall 2024 Paris Shows, According to Jane Herman
From the fit to the feel to the wash, there’s nothing quite like finding a pair of holy grail jeans. Just ask Jane Herman, who’s spent the last 20 years—as an editor, writer, and designer—figuring out all there is to know about denim, both new and vintage. So what makes a great jean? What’s the difference between selvedge and raw denim? What details set a pair of Big Es (a sartorial white whale!) apart from all other Levi’s made after 1966? You could spend hours combing through online threads to figure it all out, or you can lean on Jane’s jeanius. Each month, Herman will decode all things denim. Welcome to Jean Files.
I was starting to worry. Weeks of watching the collections—New York, London, Milan—and so few jeans on the runways. What would I be wearing next fall? Loewe pillow pants? (Chic, but not for me.) And then, Paris. Thank heaven for Paris.
We tend to think of jeans as being an American thing—and they are—but denim, the fabric, is believed to get its name from the city of Nimes, France, where in the 17th century, a durable cloth made of wool and silk called serge de Nîmes originated. Centuries later, indigo-dyed cotton workwear known as bleu de travail became the uniform for the French working class. The ’90s saw Paris-based designers Helmut Lang and A.P.C.’s Jean Touitou making jeans that achieved–and still maintain–cult status. Brigitte Bardot, Françoise Hardy, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jeanne Damas–they’re jeans girls, all of them. What even is the forever-aspirational French Girl Style without a classic five-pocket jean?
What I’m trying to convey is that denim is perfectly on brand in Paris, even if the designers who showed jeans are not actually French. To me, the denim trends that emerged last week are about elaboration. How to take a trope–patchwork, embellishment—and develop it in greater detail, with even more daring and flair. I suspect we have Brit-turned-Frenchy Jane Birkin, whose passing last summer sent us pouring over images of her in those famous Frankenstein bells, to thank, not just for Chloé’s Look 5 (which are basically replicas of Birkin’s), but also for the creativity exhibited. If the assignment was to make jeans that feel as special as hers, Paris got it right.
At Undercover, Jun Takahashi opened with a cut’n shut jumpsuit combining a silk tank with pieced jeans; it took me a second look to see it was all one thing. More “traditional” pairs with gold tinsel spilling from the seams and hems made me think of the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (no lack of brains with the construction, mind you). Look 34—a dress of dreamy white layers with a train shown over rip-kneed denim-paneled pants—was my kind of bride.
The patchwork Chloé jeans were an instant hit. Personally, I loved the wide-leg pair designer Chemena Kamali took her bow in just as much. Lutz Huelle—under-the-radar and underrated—also had fabulous hybrid jeans made from used Levi’s. Again, the designer’s own were enviable.
For anyone needing red carpet denim, Stella McCartney showed a slouchy fit chapped with silver paillettes. (Western bling; Beyoncé called it.) The jeans were all so fun to see—snaps up the side, like track pants; indigo mixed with corduroy and tweed. There was some trickery (Balenciaga) and anti-trend (a low-rise skinny jean at Miu Miu, mon dieu!), but generally the jeans in Paris were a fashionable delight. Ones I think we’ll wear and treasure. I can’t wait.
Shop a selection of runway-inspired jeans, below:
Chloé Jeans
Patchwork and Pieced Jeans
Dressed-Up Styles
Skinny and Low-Rise Jeans
February
Jean Files: How—and Where—to Score the Best Vintage Denim in Los Angeles
For the past two decades—if not my whole life—I’ve been talking about jeans. (I took a brief hiatus to start a family and make jumpsuits, but generally, it’s all denim all the time with me.) Through my latest project, a Substack called Jane on Jeans, I frequently invite readers to send in requests. The question I get asked the most: Where to shop for vintage?
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