Kendrick Lamar & the Return of Bootcut Jeans in 2026

That Super Bowl moment

For a long time, bootcut jeans belonged to the past. Or, more accurately, they belonged to an alternate universe where everyone still watched MTV on cable, and people spoke in a way that now feels embarrassingly earnest, using words that have since faded into oblivion.

They had become the uniform of men who once loved distressed leather cuffs and women who swore by Victoria’s Secret body sprays. They had, in other words, become uncool.

Then, at the Super Bowl, Kendrick Lamar walked onto the stage in a pair of Celine bootcut jeans, and suddenly, the past felt very present.

It’s easy to be cynical about fashion trends—everything old is new again, and all that. The pendulum swings, and bootcut jeans were due for their turn.

But something about Kendrick’s quiet and deliberate aesthetic shift felt different. This wasn’t the try-hard Y2K nostalgia of micro-minis and Ed Hardy tees; it was something cooler, more intentional.

SEE: Y2K Style is Back—Here are 7 Brands To Look Out For

The jeans were slim at the thighs, subtly flared at the ankle, skimming over bulky white sneakers. They moved differently. They had confidence.

Embracing the bootcut comeback

And here’s the thing about Gen Z: we like things that move differently. We like an aesthetic that doesn’t scream. We like a quiet reworking of things we were told were over. We embrace the awkward in-between—where irony and sincerity blend, where nostalgia and futurism meet.

Bootcut jeans, against all odds, suddenly make sense again.

Of course, the return of bootcut isn’t just about Kendrick. It’s been happening on the fringes—on TikTok, where fashion kids have been experimenting with looser silhouettes, and in fashion houses, where brands like Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton have been hinting at a shift away from the domination of wide-leg denim.

But there’s something about seeing them on Kendrick—an artist known for being exacting in his creative choices—that feels like permission.

Maybe we’ve been waiting for the right person to tell us bootcut jeans are cool again. Or maybe they never stopped being cool, and we just forgot.

Photos courtesy Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton

Dayne Aduna

Associate Editor

Dayne Aduna is an Associate Editor at VMAN Southeast Asia, specializing in fashion, grooming, film, television, and contemporary pop culture. With a strong editorial focus on menswear, his work explores how style intersects with shifting cultural movements across Southeast Asia and beyond.

His expertise spans fashion journalism, celebrity profiling, grooming and skincare trends, fragrance, runway reporting, and cultural commentary, with a particular eye for emerging creatives and youth-driven style.

Dayne has written extensively on fashion houses, seasonal trends, designer collections, and the evolving image of the modern Southeast Asian man, bringing both editorial depth and cultural relevance to his coverage.

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