Yes, we’re making a case for the one-legged pant

One of the biggest trends to jump out from the spring/summer 2025 shows—and perhaps the most divisive—was the one-legged pant. I’m not talking about a subtle asymmetry. These bottoms look like any other pair of pants on one side, and are essentially non-existent on the other, as if the designer forgot to complete the sketch of the garment, or the tailor hacked off one side by mistake. As if.

At Louis Vuitton, we saw pants featuring one full-length leg wrapped in wool, while the other was left half naked. At Coperni’s Disneyland Paris show, Amelia Gray stomped onto the runway in front of Aurora’s castle in a villainous black suit that comprised a blazer and tailored trousers that left her left leg bare. Our favourite iteration, however, was by none other than Matthieu Blazy at Bottega Veneta, a sophisticated midi-skirt draped over both legs, with one straight-cut trouser leg in striped wool. Chef’s kiss.

While we had three major designers co-sign the trend last September, it wasn’t the first season this concept has been spotted on the runways. Korean label Pushbutton’s spring 2019 collection was peppered with an array of one-legged bottoms (flared trousers, trackpants, and jeans). At Maryam Nassir Zadeh’s spring 2023 show, a model wore a pastel green miniskirt and tank top over what looked like a pink, one-legged trouser (looking very chic in a Y2K Disney star kinda way). The same season, Puppets and Puppets showcased a sparkly striped single-legged jumpsuit. While who had idea the first remains unclear, indie New York designer Zachariah Fairfax has made this 50-50 style (half pleated miniskirt, half tailored trouser), which he calls the Triad pants, his signature since 2021.

One might ask: What is the point of such an item of clothing? It’s the kind of garment that would incite endless dad jokes: Did they run out of fabric? Did you get these 50 per cent off?... Fashion critic Vanessa Friedman agrees; she called it an “inexplicable fashion phenomena” in her SS25 trend round-up for The New York Times.

Personally, though, as someone who despises wearing full pants and sleeps with one leg out of the duvet at night, I’m quite into them. To be honest, I’ve never been a pants person. The only reason my colleagues see me in full pants (read jeans) four days a week is because they are office-appropriate, require no planning at eight in the morning, and provide protection against the air-conditioning. A pair of pants like these would be the perfect middle ground between my desire to go sans trousers and still look suitably collected. For days between I-mean-business-pants and a flirty little miniskirt, get bottoms that can do both, you know? In practice, they’re not very different from wearing a full-sleeve one-shoulder top, or even a long skirt with a thigh-high slit. Depending on the degree of eyebrow raises you want to incite, you can start off with something safer, like Bottega Veneta’s very smart and sensible midi-skirt-trouser-hybrid or Victoria Beckham’s trousers with a straight slit in one leg. If you’re okay to go all out, there’s Coperni’s half trouser, half booty short version. And of course, if you don’t feel like shopping, you could even DIY it by hacking off a leg from an old pair of jeans.

Given the trend’s wearability, I wouldn’t be surprised to see iterations of the one-legged pants in a Zara store in a few weeks or months. Just remember: you heard it here first. See our edit of asymmetrical styles available to shop now below: