SIt may be that the Cannes Film Festival is in full swing, it may be that the Croisette continues to exert its retro charm on the fashion imagination. In Spring Summer 2026, an item returns that seems to have come straight from a holiday on the French Riviera: trousers, or rather, jeans with colored vertical stripes. Not the classic sailors, but those that recall the umbrellas of the beaches of yesteryear and the unforgettable style of their patrons.
Less nautical, more chic, thanks to soft but characterful colors, ranging from brick red to pastel blue, from mint green to sunny yellow. A graphic pattern that takes traditional denim right on holiday: from catwalks to street style, up to the most glamorous seaside destinations, a trend on the crest of the wave.
Striped jeans, the Spring Summer 2026 craze
But how did the craze start? What kicked off the trend this season is above all the first (and last) Versace collection designed by Dario Vitale. They appear on the catwalk for Spring Summer 2026 Eighties-style high-waisted striped jeans. More than a simple revival, a very precise styling operation: recovering one of the designer must-haves of the century Versace Jeans and transform it into something desirable again today.
The trend also shows on other catwalks: first of all, at Jacquemus, the greatest expert on the Riviera and surrounding areas, who in fact boasts in his collection denim trousers called Parasol de-Nîmes. Finally, emerging designers such as Anrealage and Talia Byre, who respectively focus on stripes in different denim shades (a micro trend in the very popular trendperfect to follow even for the most minimalist ones) and on the horizontal ones.
From the Versace Spring Summer 2026 show.
From Versace to La Veste, the return of striped denim trousers
The road towards the return of striped trousers/jeans had already been paved by The Robethe Spanish cult brand founded in 2018 by Blanca Miró and María de la Orden, which for several seasons has focused on striped trousers with a vintage flavour. High waist, relaxed lines, micro front pockets, wide and straight leg, full colours, retro-looking cotton: denim is just missing, but we’re sure it won’t be long in coming. Meanwhile, the original aesthetic of the brand has transformed the “umbrella stripes” into a recognizable code among the fashion insider.
For the It Girl/designer duo striped trousers are a fun, nostalgic status symbol. And they’re not the only ones who think this way. From the French Sézane to the Los Angeles Reformation, there are many proposals. And as always happens when a must-have truly goes viral, striped jeans quickly landed in the collections of low-cost brands too. Zara has already launched several striped wide leg jeans models already viral, mixing umbrella stripes and barrel and boyfriend cuts, trendy among the very young, as well as H&M and Mango.
Tapered striped jeans, Zara. €45.95
How to match striped jeans
The right way to bring them into 2026? Treating them as the star piece of the outfit. The most successful versions work with minimal tank tops and tone-on-tone t-shirts. The ideal silhouette remains the high-waisted oneperhaps emphasized by a leather belt, to further accentuate the reference to the Eighties style.
The thin colored striped jeans match with the tone-on-tone t-shirt according to street style. (Getty Images)
And then there’s the detail that makes the trend much easier to follow than it seems: the vertical lines naturally slim the figureespecially when they are thin and regular, transforming even the most statement denim into something absolutely wearable. Another strong point, making us feel like we’re already on holiday. Waiting for the holidays…
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