Print Pants

We've seen prints galore this season so far, but while tie-dye tops and techno-tribal dresses stepped into the spotlight first, the graphic trend is far from being over. Au contraire, dear readers, it's still revving up thanks to the styling choices of ladies like Rihanna and Whitney Port who are working these lively patterns into their wardrobes through eye-popping print pants. So forget about your standard solid-colored harems and wide-leg slacks—it's time to embrace trousers with energetic stripes, zippy zigzags, and animal prints instead! Frankly, we're a bit obsessed with these fabulously fresh pants, so if you're feeling a little quirky and bold too, check out today's Trend Report for all the need-to-know facts and must-have buys.



To get you further acquainted with this playful trend, it's always best to start with the runways; they are the original source of inspiration, after all! At the spring shows in Paris, Dries Van Noten showed an eclectic mix-n-match of ethnic prints—don't miss our Inspired By story on the collection—while the look at Balenciaga was all about street-chic, futuristic graphics on skinny jeans. Just across the border in Milan, Roberto Cavalli's combination of feminine and masculine silhouettes included silky print pants with buttoned-up blouses, while Etro took us back to the seventies with high-waisted pants covered in paisley prints paired with gypsy blouses and bandeau tops.

While the designer iterations are always interesting, seeing how our favorite trendsetters work these notable pant options into their daily rotation is just as intriguing. Starting off with a more subtle interpretation, Whitney Port was sighted shopping in Soho back in May wearing a slim-stripe Sass & Bide Words of Wisdom Pant ($200) that is unfortunately sold out, styled with an Alexander Wang tee and Bloch flats. Although a little more daring than Port's pick, Rihanna also opted for black-and-white print pants for her arrival at the Barbados airport. Since her high-contrast zigzag trousers (similar to the prints seen on the Givenchy S/S 10 runway) are so bold, Rihanna kept the rest of her look relatively simple with a black t-shirt, Balenciaga sandals from the Resort 11 collection, and a perforated white Prada Saffiano Leather Bag ($1695, select Neiman Marcus stores).

Even though Port and Rihanna wore their print pants in casual ways, these must-try trousers can also work for dressier situations, as Margherita Missoni and Fearne Cotton demonstrate. Regarding the latter, the British presenter was photographed outside of BBC Radio in London two months ago wearing a pair of H&M Leopard Harem Pants, which were part of the company's Fashion Against AIDS Collection, with a graphite moto jacket (also from H&M's FAA line) and black lace-up booties. While Cotton opted for a layered ensemble, print pants can also lend themselves to a sexier summer outfit as Margherita Missoni demonstrated at an event at the Il Pellicano hotel in Italy last month. The fashion heiress revealed some skin with her neutral Missoni cropped tank, which she paired with vintage Missoni silk trousers and Laura Urbinati sandals.