Gen-Z and Millennials wage war in the online debate between skinny and baggy jeans. With over two billion app downloads to its name, TikTok has certainly made a spectacular impact on the social media scene since it was first launched in 2016. One of the ways that the app has made its way into the lives and hearts of millions of consumers worldwide is through the challenges and trends that emerge in the platform's content daily. From dance routines, to styling challenges and songs, these trends are part of an ongoing conversation on platform, as people express themselves through their various interpretations of them. Last month a generation war began playing out on TikTok between “millennial v Gen Z” over skinny jeans and their place in fashion. According to Glow Up University (not an accredited academic institution), Gen Z “has spoken” and skinny jeans are over. Since January there have been 274,000 videos tagged “no skinny jeans” on TikTok and 8.3m millennial v Gen Z videos. The videos, like that of TikTok user @momohkd instructs her 410,000 viewers to throw their skinny jeans away, set them alight or cut them into something new. Like other users she says millennials should stop wearing them to look younger. In scenes reminiscent of the “OK boomer” meme that divided the generations in 2019, the videos have shone a light on how Generation Z – broadly defined as anyone born between the mid-90s and 2010 – identify themselves in contrast with the generation that came before them. The debate comes mere months after banishing side-parted hair and the use of hysterical face emoji. The conversation around the death of the skinny has been happening in fashion media since 2016, when Vogue called time on the stretchy denim imposters. Since then, straight, flared, and wide-leg silhouettes have been eclipsing skinnier styles on the legs of runway models, street style stars and influencers, and it seems now teens on TikTok have driven the final nail in the trend's proverbial coffin.

Skinny jeans have been impossible to ignore for nearly a decade, thanks to the illusion of a lean figure streamlined silhouette they provided. But in an era where comfort has become more essential than ever and relaxed styles have slowly but surely gained more prominence, it was only a matter of time before the next generation dictated a shift from restrictive, tight denim to baggier silhouettes. Last month male supermodel Luka Sabbat told Esquire: “Skinny jeans don’t look as flattering nowadays.” While the choice of jeans fits is certainly arbitrary, there is data to back up the teens argument. Over the past 3 months, wide leg and boyfriend styles have been growing at a faster pace – they’re up 148% compared to the same period last year, according to new market research from Lyst. It’s not just happening at directional brands either. Some of the most popular brands include Kut from the Kloth, Vetements, and H&M.