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Us millennials really love talking about our complicated relationship with Gen Z fashion trends, don't we?
In today's instalment, we'll be discussing a specific denim trend that's allegedly coming back.
Hint: It was frayed, fraught and full of holes.
Watch: Wait, are peplums making a comeback too? Our experts unpack it. Post continues below.
The style of jeans I'm referring to is distressed denim.
It first ripped through the late 90s grunge era, and peaked again for us thirty and forty-somethings in the early-mid noughties.
I even recall wearing a pair of these jeans to work last year and being scolded by Leigh Campbell (Executive Editor and host of our fashion show, Nothing to Wear).
She told me they weren't office appropriate. And when Leigh Campbell decrees something is so, we listen.
So imagine my shock when, while catching up on a recent episode of Nothing To Wear, I heard our very trendy (and also a Gen Z) Entertainment Writer Chelsea Hui say distressed denim is back.
All different extremes of ripped jeans featured on recent global fashion week runways. SS26 collections from the likes of Brandon Maxwell, Simkhai and AREA showed low-rise, baggy cuts of shredded denim paired with structured and feminine tops.
Chelsea specifically recommended a pair of Zara wide-leg ripped jeans on the podcast — a quick TikTok scroll told me jeans with holes in them is kind of Zara's beat right now.
Even co-host Leigh seems to have softened her stance, saying maybe "elevated distressed" is acceptable.
But alas, I am torn.
As a millennial who has quite literally trodden this frayed and gapey path, I'd like to flag a few things.
Like, remember when there was a cute little intentional rip in the knee?
This quickly became a giant gaping hole that looked like an emergency team had ripped through to attend to an injury.
Maybe you even got your foot stuck in it while trying to get your skinny jeans. Maybe you ripped the hole so far beyond repair, said skinny jeans were cut off into a pair of skinny denim shorts.
Then there's the line between distressed and stressful.
Put distressed jeans through the wash a few times, and the fray becomes too frazzled — the short strings become tangled, frays become fringes.
My auntie always used to say, "Oh, you have a hole in your jeans. Would you like me to mend them for you?"
As someone who lived through an era when having holes in your clothes was literally the worst thing you could be seen having, she was concerned for my position in society.
Now I'm nearing her age when she scoffed at the gaping holes in teenage me's jeans, I can't help but feel the same way about this returning denim trend.
But in 2025, ripped jeans look a bit different to the 2010s references flashing before my eyes.
Sure, there are still some pretty big holes, but street style in New York, London and Copenhagen shows a more refined approach to distressed denim, favouring classic washes and cuts of denim.
The styling is also fairly minimal. It might even be… cool?
For anyone thinking of adding distressed denim back into their wardrobe, keep scrolling for an edit of jeans with varying degrees of distressing.
Maybe it's time to embrace the holes again. Just... perhaps don't put your foot through them.
Chelsea's Zara Ripped Wide-Leg Mid-Waist Jeans, $69.95.
Calvin Klein High Rise Relaxed Jeans, $189.
Ally Denim Baggy Jeans Low Rise, $59.99.
City Chic Harley Fit Rochelle Straight Leg Jean, $119.95.
H&M Baggy Jeans, $44.99.
American Eagle Super High-Waisted Baggy Wide-Leg Ripped Cropped Jean, $129.95.
Pretty Little Thing Plus Light Blue Wash Open Knee, $100.
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Feature Image: Getty.
Annaliese Todd
Lifestyle Producer
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