Jennie’s Backwards Jeans Are a ’90s Kate Moss Deep Cut
Skinny or baggy? High-waisted or low-slung? Forget these overdone denim debates. Jennie is bringing a more subversive style back into the zeitgeist: backwards jeans.
When performing at the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo on Friday, the superstar wore a custom Calvin Klein Collection look that was brimming with nostalgia and ripe for discourse. Inspired by a design from the brand’s spring 1993 collection—initially worn by supermodel Kate Moss—the ensemble showcased oversized jeans with large back pockets and the brand’s leather patch as the front-facing focal points. In classic ’90s fashion they were worn with a simple bra top, and black-and-white brief underwear peeking above the waistband (a “Marky Mark” Wahlberg signature), an embroidered “CK” beret, and a layered necklace that hung down the torso. Jennie’s styling mirrored that of Moss’s on the runway, with her billowing pant legs tucked into boots and a baggy blue waistcoat layered over top.
Though the look came straight from the Calvin Klein catwalk, the references within this silhouette run even deeper. The concept of wearing one’s denim in reverse can be traced back to ’90s hip-hop duo Kris Kross, who first popularized the trend, making it an iconic streetwear staple. Over the decades, it has since become a code of deconstructed styling, as seen on the runways of Ottolinger and A.W.A.K.E. Mode in recent seasons. To add even more personality to her look, Jennie performed in a pair of edgy leather gloves on stage.
Kriss Kross wearing backwards jeans in the '90s.
This was not, however, her only denim outfit of the day. Later in the evening, she changed into a minidress crafted from upcycled Calvin Klein jeans. The garment featured piled-on waistbands in different washes, finished with an archival leather brown belt and an exposed white bra. While distinct, both looks felt perfectly apt for the 30-year-old star.
Being the budding style icon that she is, Jennie has long endorsed unconventional denim. She’s sported slouchy, crystal-embellished iterations and jeans with the zipper left undone. She also loves a ’90s reference—recently recreating a 1999 Betsey Johnson runway design in lacy lingerie. Her latest Calvin Klein looks bring together her passion for archival pieces and cutting-edge styling. Twisted, reworked, and sported in reverse—Jennie is proof that when denim is worn a little wrong, it’s undeniably right.
