Buttons, O-Rings, Exposed Zippers: Why Your Pants Deserve a Fly Fly

Fashion is all about new takes on the (more or less) familiar. It’s also about attention to detail. (See our keen obsession with all things thoughtfully embroidered, patched and pinned.) And so you get the circle of life. We quest for ways to touch up our wardrobe essentials; designers pose various options. In the pants arena, print, material and silhouette experimentation are pretty much givens. But recently — as in U.S. politics — the focus has shifted to a deeply personal area. We’ll call it the fly zone.

On the Spring 2017 Off-White runway, designer and Kanye West Creative Director Virgil Abloh (rumored to be headed to Givenchy) debuted a pair of deconstructed denim to rival those ubiquitous Vetements 501s. The key feature? An inside-out, O-ring fly. The vibe was vintage meets modern and we all know the fashion set can’t resist a clever throwback. Elsewhere, Kym Ellery toughened up her minimalist boho looks with hardcore hardware. Again, exposed and O-ring zippers were the accents du jour — though these felt less 90s, more Sex Pistols. (The punk and goth subcultures are having a fashion moment. We cite fishnets as proof.) Likewise, Isabel Marant, purveyor of French girl cool, showed a pair of slouchy-chic military-inspired cargos held in place by a bare, glinting zipper. And three makes a trend.

Cinq à Sept Fall 2017, Alexander Wang Fall 2017, Ulla Johnson Fall 2017; Images: Imaxtree

We’re barely a week into the Fall 2017 runway season and still the fly fly trend (patent pending) is holding strong. Already New York loyalists Alexander Wang, Ulla Johnson and Cinq à Sept have made the case for making one’s fly the focal point of one’s outfit. For Fall 2017, the trend has expanded to include the button fly, a closure with an air of distinction. As Vogue’s Liana Satenstein put it, “Unlike the quick-and-easy motions of a zipper, the button fly evokes a nostalgic feeling of hand-sewn quality and personalized effort—something that has fallen to the wayside in an age of stretchy skinny jeans made with materials that could never handle the rough-and-tough structure of a button closure.”

Gigi Hadid takes to the streets sporting railroad stripes and a statement fly; Image: Raymond Hall/GC Images

Gigi Hadid is sold on the idea, as are we. After all, an accented bottom half means you can go lazy lo-fi with your toppers: think plain white T-shirts, cozy muted knits or worn-in vintage band tees (for optimal punk vibes). With the help of your statement fly, you’ll still look polished and detail-oriented.

And now, without further ado, shop our favorite statement fly pants in the slideshow below.