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I think the latest iteration started with McQueen, who designed the style for women, and then it was later imported into menswear through Hedi Slimane.
Ultimately, elements of a silhouette have to work in concert. Around the late 90s/ early 2000s, the suit started shrinking -- buttoning points got pushed higher, hems got raised, collars shrunk, pants slimmed, trouser hems went up, and the overall silhouette just got tinier and tinier. In this sense, it makes sense to wear low rise trousers because it's in concert with everything else.
That said, I'm obviously not a fan of any of those looks -- short jackets, small collars, high buttoning points, etc. I think it works for a very small number of men who are stick thin, live in big cities, and want to look fashionable. But the silhouette doesn't work for most men because it just doesn't flatter their build.
Trouser silhouettes are filling out again. You see it everywhere with Lemaire, Raf, and others. With that comes a higher rise because, again, details have to work in concert. You don't see many full-legged, low-rise trousers, just as you don't see high-rise skinny trousers.
Tailoring is supposedly immune from trends, but when I was at an Anderson & Sheppard trunk show once, I talked to John Malone, the company's trouser cutter. He's been with the company for many decades. He told me that trousers silhouettes have also followed along with fashion, albeit much more slowly. These days, he cuts a slimmer trouser than what he did in the 90s, although still not approximating anything like what you see in lower-end OTR clothes.
As the runway fashion trickles down again, my guess is that you will see the pendulum swing the other way in the next 15 years -- trickling down to J. Crew and Uniqlo, ultimately affecting what tailors cut, and how people on the street dress. Then in 20 years, we'll see another reversion to slim, lower rise trousers.
Of course, the better way forward is to figure out what fits and flatters your build, and what creates a sensible silhouette for your body type. But this often requires going to a custom tailor, which can be expensive.
Ultimately, elements of a silhouette have to work in concert. Around the late 90s/ early 2000s, the suit started shrinking -- buttoning points got pushed higher, hems got raised, collars shrunk, pants slimmed, trouser hems went up, and the overall silhouette just got tinier and tinier. In this sense, it makes sense to wear low rise trousers because it's in concert with everything else.
That said, I'm obviously not a fan of any of those looks -- short jackets, small collars, high buttoning points, etc. I think it works for a very small number of men who are stick thin, live in big cities, and want to look fashionable. But the silhouette doesn't work for most men because it just doesn't flatter their build.
Trouser silhouettes are filling out again. You see it everywhere with Lemaire, Raf, and others. With that comes a higher rise because, again, details have to work in concert. You don't see many full-legged, low-rise trousers, just as you don't see high-rise skinny trousers.
Tailoring is supposedly immune from trends, but when I was at an Anderson & Sheppard trunk show once, I talked to John Malone, the company's trouser cutter. He's been with the company for many decades. He told me that trousers silhouettes have also followed along with fashion, albeit much more slowly. These days, he cuts a slimmer trouser than what he did in the 90s, although still not approximating anything like what you see in lower-end OTR clothes.
As the runway fashion trickles down again, my guess is that you will see the pendulum swing the other way in the next 15 years -- trickling down to J. Crew and Uniqlo, ultimately affecting what tailors cut, and how people on the street dress. Then in 20 years, we'll see another reversion to slim, lower rise trousers.
Of course, the better way forward is to figure out what fits and flatters your build, and what creates a sensible silhouette for your body type. But this often requires going to a custom tailor, which can be expensive.
