Musically, Kendrick Can Do No Wrong. But What About His Jeans?
Kendrick Lamar, having brought his world-conquering Drake diss "Not Like Us" to the biggest stage in America, is musically without peer. But what about his jeans?
During February 9's Super Bowl Halftime Show, Lamar performed a medley of hit songs wearing bootcut denim jeans. Yes, Lamar was also clad in custom Martine Rose and Nike Air DT Max '96 sneakers. Yes, SZA performed while surprise guest Serena Williams c-walked. Yes, 60 thousand fans chanted Lamar's immortal "A Minor" bar in unison.
But hip-hugging flared mom jeans seem a rare stylistic misstep for the always-on Lamar. But only at first blush.
Specifically, Lamar wore CELINE's "Flared Surf Jeans in Summer Dazed Wash Denim," a signature Hedi Slimane design, to Super Bowl 2025. These arequite literally $1,300 bootcuts.
Despite the designer label, these things could fall into "NTDenim" territory, referring to a derogative genre of denim jeans inspired by the tragic pooling often affected by sneakerheads.
But Kendrick Lamar is one of the most stylish dudes alive. He knows what he's doing.
Like, only Lamar could balance buzzy designers like Willy Chavarria — with whom Lamar designed a Super Bowl merch collection — and Eli Russell Linnetz' ERL with a selection of vintage finds and indie designers like Evan Kinori, mostly highlighted through his finsta.
This is the guy most likely to make Chanel ready-to-wear approachable to all (besides Matthieu Blazy, I suppose).
And so, though bootcut jeans could be treacherous territory for some, they're child's play for K Dot.
They were likely selected for Lamar's Halftime Show costume as part of a grander narrative, a daring reclamation of the most divisive denim ever designed.
And perhaps due to Lamar's unmatchable charisma, epitomized by mid-song smirks and some outrageously smooth moves, his four-figure CELINE flares just felt right.
The bootcut is a difficult cut of jeans. Too long and it awkwardly scrapes the floor. Too short and it bulges abruptly. The ideal flare expands below the knee to both lengthen the wearer's lower torso and affect an air of unbothered rocker sauciness by highlighting the thighs and tush.
It's a challenge for even the most advanced dressers. Pharrell has made the flared jean part of his uniform since taking over Louis Vuitton, steering the luxury label towards the wild West in the process. However, as stylish as Pharrell may be, his big ol' bootcuts are not for mass consumption.
That is to say, the culture has yet to follow Skateboard P on this one.
But the general reaction to Lamar's flares, more moderate and far grungier than Pharrell's LV denim, was... quite good.
A February 10 search for tweets related to Kendrick's bootcuts dug up plenty of praise, with some admirers going so far as to deem them the epitome of idealized men's flared jeans. And several folks were so smitten that they demanded a link to shop Lamar's look (and were most likely rebuffed by the price tag).
Kendrick Lamar is the people's champ. Who else could democratize one of the most divisive cuts in all of denim?
