Yes, The Person Behind Those Viral Topshop Jeans Is In On The Joke

If you’ve recovered from the brilliant absurdity that was those plastic Topshop jeans, and all of the oddball jeans styles that followed, then maybe you’re ready to hear where the inspiration for those one-off items really came from. The retailer’s head of design, Mo Riach, revealed the madness behind each pair in an interview with Elle. It's actually a pretty legitimate strategy.

As for that pair of jeans with clear knee patch detailing, it was the vinyl that appeared on the runways, from Louis Vuitton to Sandro that inspired Riach and the Topshop team to replace your typical denim patch with a vinyl panel. "Vinyl as a fabrication has been a focus for us and we always like to infiltrate all the trends that are going on into denim anywhere possible,” Riach told Elle. Sounds legit, though, and we stand by the idea that there's a very practical application, too: those shiny patches basically function as great knee pads for those of us averse to grass stains.

And, naturally, when it comes to those completely see-through jeans (which have sold out, by the way), the brand decided to push the success they saw with the aforementioned pants as far as possible. "Our customers are very early adopters who like to experiment, and we like to give them things they can experiment with. It was just a small limited edition run for the kind of early adopters we want to appeal to,” Reich explained. And it worked.

Lastly, for those tulle skirt-jeans, the concept was even simpler: The brand produces a lot of two-in-one, hybrid products. For example, it’s pretty common to walk into a Topshop and find a sweater with a shirt attached underneath, or athletic shorts with compression leggings sewn in. Playing on their customers’ penchant for all things ‘90s, the design team decided to just go for it, and sewed the skirt to the jeans.

Well, there you have it. Fashion can be completely crazy, and that's why we love it. We're pretty sure this is only the beginning for Topshop (and other retailers, too) when it comes to producing pieces that not only makes us think outside of the parameters of our usual style lens, but fashion that gets people talking, too. Now, we can all rest easy knowing just why the British retailer has been churning out some very unexpected denim styles, and we're standing by, ready to report on the next viral denim concept that hits our newsfeeds.