Kendrick Lamar just put the skinny jeans revival on pause. Last night, while making history as the first solo rapper to headline a Super Bowl Halftime Show, Lamar brought back a piece of (divisive) fashion history during his performance: 2000s flare jeans.
After winning his 20th Grammy last weekend in double denim, Lamar continued his appreciation of the utilitarian fabric over in New Orleans. He slipped into fitted light-wash trousers that had a considerable bell bottom on the way down to his his Nike Air DT Max ‘96 sneakers. His footwear nodded to Deion Sanders, a former NFL player and current coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, who made the DT Max famous in the mid-’90s.
The “kick flare” shape of Lamar’s pants was reminiscent of styles from overtly American brands like Baby Phat and True Religion. The maker of Kendrick’s jeans, however? Celine by Hedi Slimane.
Lamar’s outfit quickly went viral across social media, with users on X (formerly Twitter) in particular contrasting his choice of denim with his performance which featured everything from his not-so-subtle Drake diss “Not Like Us” to Serena Williams crip walking. “Imagine your opp being a cutie patootie in flared jeans like Kendrick Lamar,” one account wrote. “Kendrick has boot-cut jeans, a 5’5 frame, and a hater mentality and I respect that,” another joked.
Although the outfits performers at the Super Bowl wear usually border on the theatrical, Lamar’s picks were right on-trend. Shaped denim is on the rise among the celebrity set, with the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Bella Hadid wearing bell-bottom pants recently. Even Kendrick’s collaborator and friend Pharrell Williams is a proponent of the aughts jeans trend. The Louis Vuitton Men’s designer has worn almost exclusively flared trousers, whether that’s in traditional denim or buttery leather, over the past few weeks.
Lamar’s Celine pants were certainly the topic of discussion during last night’s Super Bowl—at least, for those more interested in the fashion than the actual game. The rapper topped off his look in style with a five-figure Rahaminov brooch, a simple black t-shirt, and leather gloves. A custom Martine Rose etched with “Gloria” nodded to the closing track on his album, GNX.
