By Mari Sato
Whenever I wear my ultra-low-waist jeans, I find myself silently praying for chairs with backs. Few things induce more panic than the looming threat of an accidental wardrobe malfunction. But in fashion’s latest fad, exposure isn’t a risk; it’s the point. The masses are trying to comprehend the latest trend: bum cracks. Cheek cleavage has flooded social media feeds, runway shows, and this award season. In the 2025 runway season, Diesel, Dsquared2, and Ludovic de Saint Sernin all presented pieces that showcase the lower spine down to the crack. At the Oscars after-party, Zoë Kravitz wore a sleek black floor-length gown with two large cut-outs. One exposing her shoulders to mid-back and another directly below it revealing the top of her bum.
But this cheeky trend isn’t new. It’s a revival of a style first debuted by Alexander McQueen in his Spring 1994 “Nihilism” collection. McQueen dubbed this style the “bumster pant” and is defined as a slim-fit trouser with a waistline that falls below the hip. Surprisingly, at its inception, McQueen did not intend it just to show the bum. As McQueen told The Guardian, “I wanted to elongate the body.”
McQueen’s revolutionary design has found new life in today’s fashion landscape, with data confirming the resurgence. During a Vogue interview, Madé Lapuerta, a software engineer and creator of the Instagram account Data, But Make It Fashion cited the “popularity of low-rise pants has increased 16.6% over the past month.” Glimpse, a trend analysis tool that scans online consumer behavior and social media concluded that low-rise jeans are up 57% as of January 2025. This comeback isn’t surprising, given that trends typically cycle every 30 years. But these numbers don’t necessarily indicate a full embrace of bearing the bum, but rather a growing acceptance of lower waistlines.
Real-world behavior reflects these rising statistics. Caitlin Brax, better known as the “Denim Whisperer,” a vintage store owner in Dallas, noticed the shift through her clientele. “I got the memo that low-rise was back, and a lot of that is my clients coming in and demanding that look,” she says. However, the trend may not have universal appeal. Sai Sankoh, a luxury resortwear designer from Dallas, is skeptical. “I don’t think it is going to last,” she says.
Even so, low-rise silhouettes, especially extreme ones, carry weight beyond aesthetics. Harper’s Bazaar believes that there are political connotations and the bumster pant stands as, “an indicator of the state of the world and the economy.” Showing cheek cleavage is inherently rebellious and forces us to consider what is or is not acceptable to wear. On an economic level, the hemline index serves as an interesting metric in dissecting this trend. The index states that short skirts are symbolic of bullish markets and long skirts of bearish ones. Although we are currently in a bull market, Morningstar and Morgan Stanley forecasters predict a bear market could be coming. With the context of a potential bear market, the bumster pant defies economic uncertainty by embracing boldness at a time when caution is more conventional.
As markets fluctuate and social boundaries shift, this controversial style is an intersection of economics and self-expression. While not everyone may be jumping to purchase a cheek-revealing garment, its rebirth proves fashion’s cyclical nature and that this cheeky conversation is far from over.
