If you haven’t noticed, cargo pants are coming back in style! This shouldn’t come as a surprise due to the popular return of the late 90s and 2000s fashion. And the Y2K fashion trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down as celebs have also been wearing some recognizable pieces from the decade.
Like all Y2k fashion pieces, cargo pants’ popularity has risen, being seen virtually everywhere. It doesn’t take much for one to find cargo pants in popular retail stores like Zara and ASOS either. Cargo pants are even hitting the runways as well, with models like Bella Hadid showing off the look. With cargo pants’ rising popularity, some have been left wondering how it even happened? Surely there has got to be more to the story.
How Did The Popular Cargo Pants Come To Be?
If you want to know about cargo pants rise in popularity, it is best to start at its creation. Some will be surprised to find that the creation of cargo pants had less to do with fashion and more with practicality. According to GQ, the British military designed the cargo pant in 1938. However, these cargo pants were a far cry from today, as they had only a patch pocket that could carry so much of a soldier's necessities.
Cargo pants were not only used by the British military, however. Around the 1940s, the U.S. military soon incorporated the look into their uniforms too. Unlike the British military's version, the U.S. version of cargo pants had two front pockets instead of one. Since the pants were designed for paratroopers, the extra pocket gave them more space to carry items.
After World War II, cargo pants became fully integrated as a part of the U.S. military uniform. According to Uproxx, cargo pants ended up trickling down to the public as the utility wear veterans brought home ended up in military surplus stores and worn by the subcultures who shopped there.
When Did Cargo Pants Popularity Start Rising?
Once cargo pants were introduced to the public, the clothing item was synonymous with various subcultures. In the 80s, cargo pants became prominent with the outdoorsy fashion styles as the extra pocket space allowed outdoor enthusiasts to carry more hiking and camping gear. It wasn’t until the 90s that cargo pants started to rise in popularity thanks to their prominence in skater and hip hop culture, according to The Iconic.
Like in the 40s and 80s, the cargo pants for skaters were popular due to their design being easy to move and extra pocket space. Skaters of this time paired up cargo pants with popular shoe brands like Vans and its The Half Cab shoe, which is still sold today. Hip hop artists in the 90s like the influential rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur, aka 2Pac, furthered the popularity of cargo pants as they were seen rocking the clothing item in performances and music videos.
Cargo pants from this time also became looser in fit, further signifying how they started to become worn as a fashion style. RNB girl groups from the 90s and beyond in the early 2000s also followed along, incorporating the loose cargo pants into their styles. Best-selling girl group TLC, for instance, wore bright-colored and net-like cargo pants with matching tops that spelled out their group name for the Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards in 1999.
Because of hip hop’s rising popularity, cargo pants soon became a part of streetwear. Cargo pants, specifically cargo shorts, did dip a little in popularity in the early 2010s as they briefly became associated with typical casual wear and “dad attire.” But, cargo pants would rise in popularity again due to the resurgence of Y2K fashion around 2018.
Which Celebs Have Rocked The Popular Cargo Pants Look?
Since its revival, many celebrities have worn the cargo pants fashion trend. Models and sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid tend to wear cargo pants, both on and off the runway. Due to the comfort of baggy cargo jeans, many have attested to the Hadid sisters wearing them for their outfits as part of the ever-growing off-duty model fashion look popular with Gen Z.
Nothing encapsulates the off-duty look of Bella Hadid more than her Instagram post in April 2022 where she showed followers her outfit: a color-blocked Marc Jacobs shrug cardigan, a brown Miu Miu shoulder bag, a white tank top, and low-rise green cargo pants. If you’re looking for cargo pants like Bella Hadid, BDG Y2K Low-Rise Cargo Pant at Urban Outfitters is a pretty close match!
Gigi Hadid took on a more edgy look for her February 2021 photo shoot as her cargo pants have zipped and buckled up front pockets seen on her Instagram.
It’s not just models that have worn the rising cargo pants fashion trend, though. “Euphoria” actress and singer Zendaya has also got into wearing the resurging clothing piece many times as well. For her interview with GQ in February 2021, Zendaya happened to wear army green cargo pants from fashion luxury brand DSquared2 in a photo shoot with the publication.
Megan Thee Stallion, Hailey Bieber, and Rihanna are other stars that have been caught keeping up with the popular cargo pants trend. Even British royalty have gotten in on the trend with Kate Middleton, a trendsetter in her own right, wearing cargo pants out and about at times.
How Did Cargo Pants Make Its Way Onto The Runway?
Cargo pants rising to the runway seemed to happen via the “trickle-up effect” — a fashion theory in which trends start from the public before being picked up by high fashion designers. Since its rising popularity in the 90s, many designers have incorporated cargo pants into their fashion looks. A good example of cargo pants reaching into high fashion was when they made an appearance in Ralph Lauren’s 1988 Fall/Winter runway show for New York Fashion Week.
According to nss magazine, Fendi, Stella McCartney, and Pal Zileri also have showcased cargo pants within their runway shows, often experimenting with different fittings and fabrics. This only proves to show how not only have the popular cargo pants stood the test of time, but will continue to evolve.