Denim made a striking impact on red-carpet fashion in 2024.
Designers like Schiaparelli, Alaïa, Valentino and Jean Paul Gaultier have helped elevate denim in their runway and couture collections combining the democratic fabric with their sophisticated silhouettes and constructions, said Susie Draffan, WGSN’s senior denim strategist.
Simultaneously, brands with roots in blue jeans are stepping out of their comfort zones. A master in material manipulation, Diesel creative director Glenn Martens dressed pop star Kylie Minogue for the Italian brand’s Met Gala debut in May. The dress was made of denim rib knit, which has been burned out with Diesel’s signature devoré technique “as if Kylie has been sleeping for hundreds of years and the dress has artfully decayed, dissolving on her body,” the brand stated. The dress was covered in 500,000 crystals and required 14 days of work to complete.
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Zac Posen, executive VP and creative director of Gap Inc. and Old Navy chief creative officer, dressed actor Da’Vine Joy Randolph in a one-of-a-kind, custom denim gown by Gap for the Met Gala. Drawing inspiration from themes of romanticism, nature and historic icons, Posen draped and constructed a gown that pays homage to Gap’s classic 1969 denim, while incorporating elements reminiscent of historic evening wear from the 1700s.
Posen also created a custom denim dress for Coco Rocha for the Fashion Group International 40th Anniversary Event in New York. Made from repurposed denim jackets, the gown was something entirely one of a kind. “I chose this for her, because I loved the idea of taking something utilitarian and turning it into couture. Cut and shaped for all of Coco’s moves on the carpet,” Posen said.
Denim’s new role on the red carpet plays into the wider denim-on-denim or double denim dressing trend, Draffan said. “Which is in part driven by noughties nostalgia but also by denim expanding beyond its typical categories of jeans and jackets to denim blazers, tops, dresses, trench coats, footwear, etc.,” she added.
“The concept of what denim can be has really been challenged in recent years, leading to denim being used for everything—including occasion wear—which dovetails with the noughties influence,” Draffan said. “Think of Britney and Justin and their infamous double denim red carpet looks from 2001.”
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