Loopsided skirts are trending From Saint Laurent's “bata de cola” to Prada's shirt-skirt

French architect Le Corbusier once said that symmetry is the gesture of the rational mind, while asymmetry is the mark of freedom. It seems that in this process of radical transformation that the fashion system is undergoing, the practices and techniques at the heart of designers' creative processes are also changing. After a phase marked by the return of formalwear and the reassuring precision of quiet luxury minimalism, contemporary fashion creators are rebelling against this rigidity, reclaiming the freedom to design wrinkled, torn, dirty garments—or, in the case of skirts, asymmetric ones. Slanted hems, unbalanced volumes, irregular cuts: the skirts presented by brands this season are all “badly cut”.

In the latest wave of fashion shows, many brands showcased different takes on asymmetric skirts. For the Pre-Fall 2025, Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent draws inspiration from the “bata de cola,” the traditional skirt with long, draped, ruffled trains still worn today for flamenco dancing. This Andalusian flair is echoed in Etro’s SS25 collection, where Marco De Vincenzo presents a floral-printed “flamenca” skirt paired with ribbed tank tops and mermaid-shaped jewelry. Similarly, Matthieu Blazy at Bottega Veneta unveils an orange skirt for SS25 made of diagonally-cut ruffles, revealing one leg. This trend is also tied to the return of draping techniques on the runway: for instance, Pieter Mulier at Alaïa creates sculptural, almost architectural SS25 dresses with diagonally draped skirts that spiral around the body. Draping and asymmetry are a perfect match for both Donatella Versace and Glenn Martens: their latest collections feature asymmetrical, side-knotted skirts resembling scarves.

Speaking of knots, a unique take on this “irregular” trend can be found in shirts tied at the waist and transformed into asymmetric skirts. In SS25, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons explore the boundary between fiction and reality by presenting a shirt-skirt with a side bow. In a similar vein, Marco Rambaldi unveils irregular wool mini-skirts with lace edges that were originally designed as knitted cardigans. Drawing inspiration from sporty-chic aesthetics, Off-White and Balenciaga send acetate tracksuits down the runway with asymmetric skirts formed by tying track jackets around the waist. Alessandro Michele, long fond of asymmetric silhouettes and objects, creates bias-cut polka-dot dresses in Valentino’s Pre-Fall 2025 collection, and in FW25, dresses one of the grey-haired models in a lace gown layered with a roughly cut pink satin overskirt.

Some designers embrace the asymmetry trend by experimenting with proportions and volumes. The Caten twins at Dsquared2, for example, present a sort of circular skirt in FW25, made of a round structure covered in fabric and featuring a long, wide train. With a more refined allure, Chemena Kamali at Chloé offers a dress with a tutu-like element straight out of balletcore layered over a lace skirt. At Dior, against the backdrop of a Scottish castle, Maria Grazia Chiuri creates a regal yet punk tartan look for Resort 2025, consisting of a corset and shorts with a trailing skirt tied at the waist with a slim safety-belt strap. Acne Studios merges grunge spirit with coquette hyperfemininity, presenting a plaid-print mini skirt with a large bow on the front and a trailing back.

Other brands play with asymmetries and fringe: Ferragamo presents a matching set featuring a high-low skirt with fringed edges, while Sacai’s FW25 includes a plaid asymmetric skirt with fringe that resembles a blanket. Another widespread variation of this irregular skirt is the wrap skirt, seen in pleated form at Thom Browne and Coperni for winter collections, and in the SS25 show by Courrèges with a long side train. The asymmetric skirt trend reaches its full expression through total deconstruction. At Louis Vuitton, Resort 2026 features a skirt with uneven ruffles in Lycra-like fabric; Ludovic De Saint Sernin offers a leather version made of thinly laced, partially stitched strips; and Yohji Yamamoto presents a “post-atomic” summer skirt made of torn black pinstriped fabric, a testament to a kind of uniqueness and beauty only asymmetry can provide.