I’ve seen an awful lot of belly buttons over the past few days at LFW and have the absolute authority to confirm that the low waist trend is alive and kicking for spring 2024.
When you’re sitting in the front row, your head is level with the model’s midriffs and your eyes are aligned to their stomachs. Whether their trousers are riding low is often the first thing you notice from a catwalk lewk, before scanning the rest of the outfit and checking off colour, fabric, silhouette and trends in styling.
A mighty amount of designers created low-slung, hipster style skirts, shorts and trousers for next season. Everyone from heritage designer brand Burberry, to the newest names on the catwalk, like Di Petra and Supriya Lele seemed to have a belly-baring outfit in their collection. But these were not looks that were as basic as a pair of low-rise jeans.
The low waist trend incorporated layers, mesh and multiple strands of fabric that tied around the model’s torsos. Some waistlines seemed to skim down to the pubic bone but even those that sit just above the hips (offering a sliver of skin, instead of a slice) will tick off the trend.
While the low waist trend was walking the runways, we couldn’t help but notice that the street style set were already working the trend too, using the sexiest styling hack – which cleverly taps into the trend for concealing and revealing your bod, too. Instead of going full on retro with low-rise bottoms and a tiny crop top (hey Britney) everyone at LFW was wearing their hipster styles with high-leg bodies or leotards so you can see a gap between the leotard’s edge and the low-rise waist.
Alternatively, some of the fashion set teamed their low-riders with logo pants that showed the knicker waistband above the trouser line. A belly chain or super-wide Sienna Miller boho-era belt was the ultimate accessory. The street style styling is pleasing evidence that the formerly relentless drive of new trends is actually slowing down, when you see examples of what’s appearing on the catwalk on the show-goers and frow-ers.
Christian Vierig
WWD
Although it needs to be noted that while London seems to be doing great things for body inclusivity – check out Felicity Hayward’s incoming report on Including the Curve, after Paris Fashion Week – it still seems some catwalk trends are not as inclusive as they should be.
The majority of models who wore the low waist trend were traditional sample size – that is, slim. So shout out to Yuhan Wang and Supriya Lele for showcasing that the low waist trend can look incredible on bigger bellies and Masha Popova who presented her low waist look on a pregnant model.
If you’re into doing the low-rise look in reverse, Harris Reed presented a sumptuous velvet gown that sunk to bumster level at the back. It looked absolutely chic, despite the precarious cut, and deserves to appear on a red carpet very soon. For spring 2024, the only question that remains is, how low will you go?
Read more from Glamour UK Fashion Director at large Alex Fullerton here or follow her on Instagram @alexandrafullerton