All the proof you need that culottes are making a comeback

Acne Studios ready-to-wear autumn/winter ’19/’20. 

Who wears the pants? That was the perennial and political question thrown up at the 51st Wimbledon Championships in 1931, when Elsa Schiaparelli dressed tennis champion Lilí Álvarez in a pair of culottes. The bold choice ignited the press, which condemned Álvarez and set the tone for the divisive reception of the pants.

Dating back to the 1500s, when they were the exclusive domain of French aristocratic men, it wasn’t until the Victorian era that the ‘divided skirt’ became available to everyone. To resolve the quandary of riding bicycles and horses, women too adopted the silhouette, thereby associating culottes with liberty, practicality and style.

“With origins rooted in menswear, [culottes] are an empowering piece, focussing on what they feel like to wear, rather than how others will respond to them,” says Sohyun Joo, US head buyer of curated e-store W Concept, where customers have been reintroduced to the style in linen, leather and denim varieties. “[Though culottes exude] a mood that maintains professionalism, these pants are much more versatile and provide many more styling options than the tailored suit-pants,” Joo adds.

Christian Dior ready-to-wear autumn/winter ’19/’20. 

Margaret Howell, Acne Studios and Michael Kors reified this versatility in their respective collections. The pants’ mutability was shown off – each brand interpreted the silhouette with cuffs, pleats and paper-bag waists. As Joo says: “With the widepants trend dominating throughout the past several seasons, culottes have entered more aggressively than ever as its seasonal sister.”

For proof, turn to Paris, where culottes were solidified into the bedrock of Hedi Slimane’s new guard at Celine. Versions delivered down the runway in pleated houndstooth, chevron wool, autumnal tartans and denim emphasised utility. At Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri extended their application, pairing culottes in oversized plaid patterns with fitted blazers to defamiliarise traditional feminine shapes.

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Off-white ready-to-wear autumn/winter ’19/’20. 

Styling cues abounded. Princess Diana may well have played on the subconscious of Alessandro Michele at Gucci for autumn/winter ’19/’20, where the royal’s ensemble from her 1991 Brazil tour was immortalised once more. Culottes were paired with a revised version of the princess’s double-breasted vest in long sleeves, which Michele accessorised with a tie for good measure. Elsewhere, amid the fallen leaves at Khaite’s forest, a leather pair, teamed with just-below-the-knee boots, flashed a surprising hint of flesh. Meanwhile at Off-White, silk culottes fell down the legs like liquid, conservatively layered over trousers and pooling at diamanteencrusted heels.

To maximise the potential, Joo says tailoring is key. “The most important feature for culottes is the length: the most flattering [should be] hitting right at the slimmest point of your leg, falling a couple of inches above the ankle,” she adds. And, for seamless transitioning between work and weekend wear, replace a tucked-in blouse with a cropped top or swap out flat shoes for a pair of heels. Easy.

This article originally appeared in Vogue Australia’s September 2019 issue.