Hailey Bieber Reverses Her Stance on Classic Pants With an Exaggerated Take on the Barrel-Leg Trend

There is one cardinal rule in Hailey Bieber's wardrobe: Under only the rarest circumstances will the Rhode founder wear pants. Bottoms in a prototypical Hailey Bieber outfit often have "micro" as a prefix: micro shorts, micro-mini skirts, micro-mini dresses. At Paris Fashion Week for Saint Laurent's show and after-party, Bieber wore two of the three—plus a snow-leopard Saint Laurent coat with nothing but sheer tights. (That's another of her favorite leggy styling hacks.)

So it came as a shock when I scrolled Instagram on March 13 and stumbled upon a secret take on the barrel-leg pant trend Mrs. Bieber wore while attending Paris Fashion Week this week. Longtime stylist Dani Michelle shared photos lensed by Tizano Raw on Instagram of the beauty mogul in an industrial space wearing an unexpected (for her) wardrobe essential: black trousers with an exaggerated barrel leg.

Bieber being Bieber, these weren't ordinary pants. If she was going to succumb to the corporate suiting trend taking over runways from Calvin Klein to Givenchy, she was going to do it in over-the-top fashion. She chose a full look from Jacquemus's latest collection, pairing a nipped-in longsleeve black jacket to ballooning black barrel-leg pants. The silhouette rounded away from her legs into a horseshoe shape, a dressed-up take on the barrel-leg jeans Katie Holmes has lately favored in street style. It was also the businesswoman special's take on the "tiny top, big pants" phenomenon sweeping street style in the past year: the proportions were exaggerated, the CEO energy off the charts.

Bieber kept her newfound affinity for black trousers somewhat under-wraps (or underground, judging by the parking garage-look of her photoshoot). Since returning to the public eye after giving birth to her son, Jack Blues Bieber, she's been staunchly anti-pants in nearly every outfit. Before there was her Schiaparelli blazer and elegant ballet flats, Bieber had worn everything from Ferragamo leather party dresses to barn jackets styled as a mini dress. The only exception I can think of is the Saint Laurent suit she wore to a Rhode Barrier Butter launch party—which, like her Jacquemus outfit, dialed up proportions with oversize shoulders and puddling pants.

Plenty celebrities with distinct personal styles still rely on the eternal wardrobe essential otherwise known as black pants. It's the great common denominator of Hollywood—and closets worldwide. Jennifer Lawrence strolls through New York and Los Angeles displaying a range of pants by The Row and Loewe. Kaia Gerber wears her low-slung black trousers as often as her trendy East-West tote bag by Paloma Wool. (Read: almost every other day.) Even Hailey Bieber's close confidant, Kendall Jenner, appears to have a walk-in closet dedicated to minimalist black pants.

All that's to say, I've always known Hailey Bieber wears the pants metaphorically. Now I know she can do it literally, too.

Shop Hailey Bieber's Unexpected (for Her) Wardrobe Essential