The Fate of This Controversial New Legging Trend Remains to Be Seen

Here at Who What Wear, we've discussed controversial legging trends at length over the years (remember naked leggings?), but the latest one isn't what we were expecting. For context, the chic and modern brand Cushnie just released its latest activewear collection on Carbon38. While many pieces were clearly created more for the street than the gym, for all intents and purposes, it's athleisure. The collection is filled with cool crop tops, jackets, leggings, and everything to go with them. One thing I couldn't help but notice in the collection is that almost all of the leggings have a flared leg, and they're touted as being figure-flattering.

Years ago, this editor's very first leggings all had a flared leg, and they were commonly referred to as "jazz pants." (Yep.) But Cushnie's designs are a far cry from those early-2000s styles. These flared leggings are undoubtedly chic, sophisticated, and effortless. I'm not sure that I'll be wearing them to Spin class anytime soon (seems hazardous), but I'm certainly intrigued by the flared legging trend for other off-duty activities, especially when the look is as undeniably high fashion as this.

Shop the flared leggings and more standout pieces from the collection below.

Allyson Payer
Senior Editor

Allyson is a senior editor for Who What Wear. She joined the company in 2014 as co-founder Katherine Power's executive assistant and over the years has written hundreds of stories for Who What Wear. Prior to her career in fashion, Allyson worked in the entertainment industry at companies such as Sony Pictures Television. Allyson is now based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She holds a BFA in theater. Her path to fashion may not have been linear, but based on the number of fashion magazines she collected as a child and young adult, it was meant to be.