I've Spotted the Chic Jacket Trend That Dominated the Met Gala All Over Zara, H&M and Mango

As fashion’s elite suited up for the 2025 Met Gala, taking over the decadent blue carpet of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in their (super) finest tailoring, I couldn’t help but notice from the comfort of my lounge room that the one high street trend I had been seeing everywhere in London was suddenly spotted all over the prestigious Manhattan steps.

For this year’s edition, style luminaires across film, television, music, sports, theatre and culture were tasked with adhering to the dress code “Tailored For You” to celebrate and accompany the theme of the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”. The display was an homage to the rich and resilient motifs of the cultural and aesthetic stylings of Black Dandyism. But between the nods to André Leon Talley, Dapper Dan, Josephine Baker and Bianca Jagger, there was one particular trend that piqued my interest: the waisted blazer.

The reason this trend caught my eye was because the shape is currently unavoidable, stocked to the brim at expensive-looking high-street stores like Zara, Mango, H&M and Aligne. We here at Who What Wear UK pride ourselves on being ahead of the sartorial curve, so it would be remiss of me not to mention the fact we first noticed the fitted blazer on the rise all the way back in 2024.

Now, it’s earned the approval of the most influential and in-the-know people in the industry today. For the uninitiated, the waisted blazer is a jacket cut that hugs the figure and cinches in at the waist, creating a contoured and hourglass silhouette synonymous with ’80s power dressing and ’90s minimalism. On the red carpet, the flared outline was interpreted in many ways. The A Complete Unknown breakout star Monica Barbaro’s recreation of Christian Dior’s original 1947 Bar Jacket ensemble to Zendaya’s all-white Louis Vuitton zoot suit.

Sabrina Carpenter and Doja Cat both put short n’ sweet twists on the trend, looking to ultra-cropped and defined waisted blazers to offset their more risqué pantless looks. Hailey Bieber did the same, wearing a Saint Laurent mini blazer dress that nipped in at the midpoint of her torso.

Surprisingly, I’d have to award the best waisted blazer prize to Kendall Jenner, who wore a ruched grey waisted blazer and matching elongated pencil skirt from independent British designer Torishéju. According to an interview with VOGUE, Jenner was inspired by the queer nightclub singer Gladys Bentley, who crooned all over Harlem at gay speakeasies wearing traditionally masculine dress. How’s that for a history lesson?

Of course, with waisted blazers showing no signs of slowing down, consider their red carpet debut as an official invitation to invest in your own. Ahead, see the best waisted blazer moments from the 2025 Met Gala and the best styles to shop.