Bella Hadid Ushers in the Denim Renaissance
Denim is the material of the moment, it seems. The humble textile has showed up as everything from gowns to outerwear on runways throughout fashion month, and now, street style savant Bella Hadid is embracing the fabric in her own, unique way. On Wednesday, Hadid stepped out in the trending fabric, though she wasn’t just wearing a simple pair of jeans, but a body-hugging dark wash dress. With one shoulder and stitch work that wrapped around the model’s body until it reached an asymmetric hem, the piece accentuated Hadid beautifully. She added her own thrifty touch to the look by layering the dress over a light blue t-shirt and sheer tights, finishing the outfit off with some black, calf-high boots.
As for accessories, Hadid broke up the mostly-blue look with a mustard yellow shoulder bag, which played off the coloring of the stitching on the dress. She also wore a pair of Y2K-era blue-tinted sunglasses. Later, she added another early-aughts touch, a one-inch wide blue headband.
Of course, denim (even in the form of a dress) is nothing new, but this season’s runway shows have been filled with updated takes on jeans as designers manipulate the classic fabric in different ways. Denim was, unsurprisingly, a huge theme of Glenn Martens’ Diesel show in Milan, but even Matthieu Blazy referenced the material in his inaugural show for Bottega Veneta. The designer started his presentation with two seemingly simple looks consisting of white shirts and jeans. A closer inspection, however, revealed the pieces were constructed entirely of leather, proving that you can sometimes achieve the affect of denim without using the fabric at all.
But while Hadid (and her sister) have proved their affinity for leather, this particular garment is not a trick of the eye like Blazy’s, but a true denim dress, and most likely it’s just the beginning of the denim renaissance. Get ready to see this fabric in every color, shape, and use possible. Hadid has become a bit of a trend prophet in her own right, so take this look as a sign.
