Kim Kardashian Just Brought Back Another Divisive 2000s Trend
For those who are all too familiar with the ins and out of popular style in the early 2000s, watching Gen Z dredge up every trend from the era has been slightly painful at times. Millenials let out a collective groan when low-rise jeans were dubbed “in” once again, and while some would like to leave trucker hats and cargo pants in the past, they too have made their way back into the current style zeitgest. But while celebs like Bella Hadid and Iris Law have been leading the charge of this Y2K revival wave, Kim Kardashian has been mostly staying out of it, sticking to her Balenciaga wardrobe and beloved pantaleggings for the past year. On Tuesday, though, the reality star was able to combine her favorite garment with a 2000s trend we honestly never thought we’d see again, and we’re not sure how we feel about it.
After some anticipation (and a whole lot more promotion), Kardashian’s latest business venture, SKKN By Kim, has officially launched, which means she’s in New York City to promote it on the talk show circuit. Early in the morning, the beauty mogul was spotted by the paparazzi heading to The Today Show, and that’s where we got our first look of her outfit for the appearance. Still rocking her platinum locks, this time in a sleek bob, Kardashian sported a white t-shirt, tied up in the back to make a crop top, and a pair of Balenciaga pantaleggings from the spring 2018 ready-to-wear collection. The red, white, and blue pants feature large stripes of each color, with “Balenciaga” written down one leg and “57 Avenue Montaigne,” the address of the brand’s Paris store, down the other. The left hip features a blue rooster, and then, we get to the back. Sprawled across Kardashian’s famous butt are the words “Spring Summer 18.”
It’s really less about what’s on the butt and more just the fact that there are words there at all. Long gone seem the days of Juicy tracksuits with “Juicy” written in rhinestones on the back of their velour pants, or Victoria Secret’s Pink line which seemingly didn’t sell bottoms without “Pink” across the butt. But now, here it is again, on one of the biggest tastemakers of the time.
Of course, these pants are about five years old, but when they first walked the runway, their word-embossed behind was covered by a dress on top. The fact that Kardashian chose to pull them out now and wear them with a shirt that so clearly shows off the wording is telling. There’s also Kardashian’s top to consider, and the way she chose to tie it up in a knot. No doubt Kardashian has a closet of perfectly cropped tees, but she decided to choose a larger one so she could get this tied up effect, another very aughts addition.
So, will words across the butt become more prevalent in our future? Honestly, hopefully not. Just like when they were popular the first time around, there’s something decidedly un-chic about the idea of sprawling a sentence where you sit down.
