With roots deep in the sartorial tradition, the icon of this is the well-tailored trouser, which has become a thing of cutting edge, shedding an inch or two to become ankle-skimming and gradually implanting itself in today’s zeitgeist in the process.
It’s an proposal that was in full bloom over the spring 2009 catwalks. 

At Junya Watanabe every style showed full-on sock whether as long-shorts, jeans rolled up to reveal their gingham lining or a more classic, tailored slack. At Yves Saint Laurent, Stefano Pilati’s immaculate flat fronts stopped short to fetishise a beautiful pair of Chelsea boots and at Alexander McQueen trousers were either perfect length or just that couple of inches shorter.

The theme continues elsewhere at varying extremes. From subtle-as at Dries Van Noten to Raf Simons at Jil Sander, where ankles went on show au natural, truly living up to the ankle-flashing name. And don’t forget Thom Browne, who has pushed this look since year-dot of his eponymous New York label. Maybe the rest of the world has finally caught up with him.

Happening on a catwalk once would construe an idea; twice make a suggestion, three times would maybe form a trend but at this level it’s surely a preoccupation, with potential bordering on a movement.

On the street, too-short trousers is a look predominantly youth-appropriated (and fixated), whether it’s a juvenescence of years or of spirit. Simply, an ankle-grazing, too-short trouser is a way to make tailoring, with all its’ classic rituals, subversive again. “It's about reclaiming the suit from the ‘City’” as Patrick Grant, of Savile Row jewel Norton & Sons summarises so succinctly. If you pop down to any of London’s more peacock-like areas, the look is underway. In tweed or cotton drill, whether worn mod-like or - very, very rarely - as a style so extreme it’s knocking at the door of being a plus-four. 

“We've had a huge influx of younger clients this year,” Grant explains of how tailoring is more desirable and increasingly revered in a day-to-day context. “It's about a return to elegance but also a return to craft - people are coming to us because they want something made for them, but also made with integrity.” 

Although no Norton customer is up for a full ankle on show, he does have three young clients who do favour a shorter trouser. If you think of the issue on a sliding scale, it’s therefore completely obvious that it gets taken to further extremes on the street, feeding back once again to the international catwalks.

Is it a style Grant would sport now? “Well, I had some amazing Gaultier cotton pants in the late 80’s that were super short,” he confesses. “And a pair by Costume National a few years later. I do wear my jeans rolled short though, and my summer cotton trousers show a good bit of sock. But you’ve got to get the shoes right - go chunky, Trickers or something else with a good welt if the trouser stops short. “
Ponystep’s Fashion Editor Jean-Marc Masala agrees that if you go for it, chunky shoes are the way forward - “With high socks too, and a long sleeved top half. That's the way I would do it.” 

Behind every fashion is a catalyst. Masala thinks he can identify the one behind this. “Jeans don't have the power they used to have - they are not a freedom flag anymore,” he continues, describing how any provocativity has subsided from denim. “Ankle trousers are seen as cool because they make you look like you belong to a gang - everything from rave kids to eco-punks. Plus, the sexualization of everything makes, I guess, people think: ‘The more I flash the better’.”
It’s a look that’s seriously moving from the street and into high-end boutiques. And then being sold back via the British high street. Even designers such as Oliver Sweeney have caught the bug, the cobbler’s PR, Amber Munden, telling Ponystep how coloured sock sales have rocketed in light of being ‘on show’.

As for becoming a jeans alternative with longevity, it’s a controversial one. Bunched-up, too-long trousers certainly won’t disappear forever - Givenchy menswear’s epic, landmark Spring 2009 show, styled by Panos Yiapanis, offered pushed-up leggings under shorts, and they looked amazing.

Whatever your spin on things, a well-worn cliché is strengthened. The perfect trouser, like life itself, is most definitely in the details.

DMD