Denim reset: 2023 will be about revisiting the classics
Designers are returning to denim archetypes – from Western shirts to 90s-inflected jeans – gently refined and subtly subverted for the new season
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

If recent seasons have seen more outré denim styles reign supreme on the runway – the big and baggy, the low-slung, the diamanté-encrusted or heavily embellished – the beginning of a new year offers time for a reset. Now is the moment for revisiting denim’s most timeless archetypes, from the classic blue jean to the Western-style denim shirt, both gently refined and subtly subverted by an array of designers this season.
Denim reset: a return to the classics
Dress (worn as top), £1,350; trousers, £760; shoes, £780, all by Fendi
These pieces are revisited at Brunello Cucinelli, which has parlayed its near-unrivalled dedication to Italian craftsmanship to create denim both soft and strong, melding the fabric’s roots in workwear with the brand’s intrinsic elegance. A similar refinement is evident at Fendi, where womenswear creative director Kim Jones uses crisp indigo-dyed denim for equestrian-inspired dresses – a rounded skirt and buckle recalled the proportions of a saddle – and impeccably tailored high-waisted jeans.
Jacket, price on request, by Tod’s. Jeans, £443, by Jacob Cohën. Shoes, £780, by Fendi
At Jacob Cöhen – an expert in the medium, crafting its famed denim entirely by hand in Veneto, Italy – sees boot-cut fits and gently-oversized denim jackets strike a 90s-inflected mood (a simple white tank provides the perfect companion). A raw-edge trench coat by Tod’s, in contrasting panels of washed denim, also recalls the undone glamour of the era, here reinvigorated for the season ahead.
Model: Dhillon at Kult Models, Barbara at Wilhelmina. Casting: Svea Casting. Hair: Sky Cripps-Jackson using Davines. Make-up: Victoria Martin. Manicurist: Sasha Goddard at Saint Luke using Dior Manicure Collection and Miss Dior Hand Cream. Set design: Staci Lee Hindley. Set assistant: Luke Spencer. Photography assistants: Ben Butcher, Millie Noble, Alys Morrison. Fashion assistant: Kris Bergfeldt.
A version of this story appeared in the January 2023 issue of Wallpaper*, available now in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today (opens in new tab)
Jack Moss is the Fashion Features Editor at Wallpaper*. Having previously held roles at 10, 10 Men and AnOther magazines, he joined the team in 2022. His work has a particular focus on the moments where fashion and style intersect with other creative disciplines – among them art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and profiling the industry’s leading figures and brands.
-
Braun and Kith rethink classic clock design
Dieter Rams and Dietrich Lubs’ original 1980s design is given a modern mood in the Kith for Braun BC 17 wall clock
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Hampshire home for a sailor makes for a sustainable domestic haven
Sailor's House by OB Architecture is a Hampshire home that combines minimalism and sustainability
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance combines bronze and beeswax for expressive candles
Made in Portugal under the French designer's Made in Situ label, 'Bronze and Beeswax' is a series of candles and candleholders whose aesthetic is both organic and minimalist
By Rosa Bertoli • Published