Fashion's waistlines are moving further down the body, extending the low-rise silhouette from the hips toward the lower back and upper buttocks.
What was once a defining early-2000s proportion is now becoming more extreme as designers lower the waistline and reveal more of the lower body.
That shift is particularly visible across the Spring/Summer 2027 runways in New York, London and Paris, where designers are experimenting with low-slung trousers, deep back cut-outs and sheer fabrics in different ways.
Collections from Emily Dawn Long, Private Policy and 7 For All Mankind in New York, Mowalola in London and Julie Kegels in Paris have interpreted the concept through distinct approaches to proportion, construction and exposure.
Where 'The Bumster' Began
Alexander McQueen's 'bumster' remains a key influence on extreme low-rise dressing.
He introduced the trousers in his Autumn/Winter 1993-94 debut collection, Taxi Driver, with a low waistband designed to expose part of the buttocks and elongate the body.
'I wanted to elongate the body, not just show the bum,' McQueen explained. 'To me, that part of the body – not so much the buttocks, but the bottom of the spine – that's the most erotic part of anyone's body, man or woman.'
McQueen later developed the silhouette across his early collections before Seán McGirr revisited 'the bumster' for Spring/Summer 2026.
Emily Dawn Goes Lower
Emily Dawn Long put the trend on full display for SS27 with her New York presentation, The Crack of Dawn.
Her 'Southern Cleavage' collection featured dresses and other looks designed to reveal the buttocks.
Several dresses featured backs that dipped low enough to expose the upper gluteal cleft, while ruffles framed some of the openings.
Long also brought the idea into denim, with some jeans featuring openings at the back of the waist.
More Ways To Bare
Private Policy gave the trend a sportier edge for SS27, pairing basketball-inspired looks with low-rise trousers and cut-outs below the hips.
Designer Mowalola Ogunlesi pushed the exposure further in London with pencil skirts, figure-hugging trousers and sheer organza looks that brought the backside into view.
At denim brand 7 For All Mankind, low-rise jeans and short shorts revisited the label's early-2000s aesthetic.
Kegels offered a more covered interpretation in Paris. Her SS27 collection explored gravity through clothes that appeared to fall or slide down the body, including skirts and trousers with deliberately elongated, dropped proportions.
She paired these silhouettes with button-down shirts, blazers and structured pieces, keeping the waistline low without exposing much of the skin. The result softened the exaggerated waistline through layered styling, tailoring and the placement of the clothes.
The Low-Rise Evolution
Nearly 33 years after McQueen introduced 'the bumster', similar low-slung proportions have appeared across fashion collections in recent seasons.
Low-rise went mainstream by the early 2000s, reaching its zenith within a few years. By 2001, Levi's had introduced its Superlow jean silhouette as low-rise became standard across jeans and trousers. The Guardian later described low-rise as one of 'the most polarising fashions from the 2000s'.
For SS27, designers are taking the waistline further down the body across trousers, skirts and dresses, bringing the lower back and upper buttocks into the silhouette.
