Coi Leray in Granny Square Pants: The Crochet Trend That Broke the Internet
When Coi Leray stepped out wearing a pair of granny square pants, the internet did what it always does when a celebrity wears something unexpectedly brilliant — it lost its mind. Fans flooded social media with screenshots, crafters rushed to their yarn stashes, and fashion journalists scrambled to write about the unlikely collision of grandma’s living room and the hottest rap artist of her generation. But this moment was more than just a viral fashion flash. It was a signal that crochet — specifically the iconic granny square — had officially arrived as a serious player in contemporary streetwear and high fashion.
This post is for everyone who saw those photos and thought: I need to know more. Whether you’re a fashion obsessive, a crafter looking for inspiration, or someone who simply wants to understand why a geometric textile pattern that originated decades ago is suddenly appearing on red carpets and music videos, you’ve come to the right place.
Who Is Coi Leray and Why Does Her Style Matter?
Before we dive deep into the granny square phenomenon, it’s worth understanding why Coi Leray’s fashion choices carry so much cultural weight. Born Brittany Collins in Boston and raised in New Jersey, Coi Leray burst onto the rap scene with an unapologetic energy that matched her eclectic, genre-blending music. Her sound pulls from hip-hop, pop, and R&B, and her style does something similar — it pulls from streetwear, Y2K nostalgia, high fashion, and DIY aesthetics all at once.
What makes Coi Leray particularly interesting as a fashion figure is that she doesn’t play it safe. She’s been photographed in everything from head-to-toe latex to oversized varsity jackets, from barely-there bikini tops to structural avant-garde pieces. She treats her body and her wardrobe as a canvas, and she leans into trends before most celebrities are willing to take the risk. That’s exactly why her choice to wear granny square pants was such a defining moment — she didn’t just wear crochet casually. She wore it boldly, intentionally, and in a way that felt completely authentic to who she is.
What Are Granny Square Pants, Exactly?
If you’ve never come across this term before, a quick explanation is in order. Granny squares are a foundational crochet motif — small, individual squares made by crocheting in rounds from the center outward, typically featuring a cluster of stitches at the center and open lacework that creates a beautiful lattice effect. They have traditionally been used to make blankets, afghans, and home décor items, and they became iconic in the 1970s as part of the broader handcraft revival of that era.
Granny square pants are exactly what they sound like: bottoms — whether trousers, wide-leg pants, flares, or shorts — constructed from granny squares that have been joined together to form a wearable garment. Because each square is its own colorful, geometric unit, the result is a patchwork effect that is visually striking, inherently retro, and deeply eye-catching. They can be made in a single color for a more modern, minimalist look, or in an explosion of contrasting colors for a maximalist bohemian feel.
The construction requires skill. Joining dozens of individual granny squares into a coherent pair of pants that actually fits a body well is no small feat. You need to account for curves, seams, waistbands, and leg openings, which is why handmade versions of these pants are often worn as works of art as much as garments. When fashion houses or celebrity stylists get involved, the quality can be extraordinary — perfectly engineered patchwork that looks effortless but represents hours of skilled work.
The History Behind the Granny Square
To appreciate why these pants hit so hard culturally, you need to understand the granny square’s journey through fashion history.
The granny square as a crochet motif has been around for well over a century, but it reached peak cultural saturation in the late 1960s and 1970s. During that era, there was a widespread return to handmade, artisanal crafts as a form of countercultural expression. Young people who wanted to reject mass consumerism picked up crochet hooks, knitting needles, and macramé cords. The granny square became a symbol of that movement — colorful, labor-intensive, and completely distinct from anything produced in a factory.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, the granny square went into hibernation. It became associated with a slightly dated aesthetic — grandmothers’ blankets, thrift store finds, and craft fairs. The name “granny square” itself told you everything: this was something your grandmother made, not something you’d wear to a club.
But fashion works in cycles, and the early 2000s saw the first whispers of a crochet revival. Boho-chic style brought crochet tops and festival fashion back into the mainstream. By the 2010s, artisan crafts were having a broader cultural moment, with the rise of Etsy, the slow fashion movement, and a renewed interest in traditional textile techniques. And then the 2020s hit, and everything accelerated.
The pandemic played a significant role. With millions of people stuck at home looking for something to do with their hands, fiber arts — knitting, crocheting, weaving — experienced a massive surge in popularity. A whole new generation of young people picked up crochet hooks for the first time and discovered that the craft was not only meditative and satisfying but also genuinely cool. Social media, particularly TikTok, became flooded with crochet content. Creators began making granny square crop tops, bags, hats, and yes, pants. The aesthetic was simultaneously nostalgic and cutting-edge.
How Coi Leray Made Granny Square Pants a Cultural Moment
Celebrity influence on fashion trends is nothing new, but what Coi Leray did with granny square pants was particularly effective because of how she wore them. This wasn’t a celebrity casually photographed in something interesting. This was a carefully assembled look that communicated something specific: crochet is not a cute little hobby. It is fashion.
The visual contrast she created was striking. Her granny square pants — colorful, textured, and geometric — were styled in a way that felt current and confident. There was nothing apologetic or ironic about the look. She wore it like it was the most natural thing in the world, which is exactly how you normalize something that might otherwise feel risky. When a celebrity of her stature commits fully to a trend, it sends a message to everyone watching: this is worth your attention.
Social media amplified the moment almost instantaneously. Crafters on TikTok and Instagram began posting tutorials for making their own version of the pants. Fashion accounts broke down the look and analyzed the construction. Fans tagged their friends. Stylists took notes. Within a very short period of time, “granny square pants” went from a niche phrase known mainly in crochet communities to a search term that regular fashion consumers were typing into Google.
The Broader Crochet Fashion Movement
Coi Leray’s moment didn’t happen in a vacuum. It landed in the middle of a broader and very well-documented movement toward crochet in high fashion and streetwear.
Designers including Valentino, Bottega Veneta, and Jonathan Anderson for Loewe have all incorporated crochet into their collections in recent seasons. Bottega Veneta, in particular, sent models down the runway in complex crochet dresses and separates that looked like wearable sculptures. The message from the high-fashion world was clear: crochet has craftsmanship, crochet has texture, crochet has soul, and those are exactly the things that the luxury market is chasing right now.
At the same time, streetwear brands and independent designers have been embracing crochet with equal enthusiasm. Smaller labels and individual artisan creators — many of whom built their following entirely through Instagram and TikTok — have been selling crochet pieces for years and are now finding themselves suddenly in extremely high demand. The granny square, in particular, has been a recurring motif across all of these spaces, from couture to cottage industry.
This convergence of high fashion and grassroots craft culture is exactly the kind of moment that shapes the direction of style for years to come. And artists like Coi Leray, who exist in the space between mainstream pop culture and subculture cool, are the perfect conduits for that convergence.
How to Wear Granny Square Pants If You’re Not Coi Leray
Not everyone has a stylist, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pull off this look. The key to wearing granny square pants successfully is understanding what makes them work visually and building your outfit around that.
The pants themselves are naturally the focal point of any look. Because they carry so much visual weight — color, texture, pattern — the rest of your outfit should be relatively simple. A fitted white or black crop top lets the pants breathe. A simple tank tucked in can work beautifully. Even a form-fitting long-sleeve top in a neutral can create a really polished balance between structured and relaxed.
Footwear is important. Chunky platform sandals or strappy heeled sandals tend to look fantastic with granny square pants because they echo the handmade, artisanal aesthetic of the crochet without competing with it. Sneakers can also work well — white low-tops or vintage-style trainers give the look a more streetwear-inflected feel. What you want to avoid is anything overly formal or polished, which will create a strange visual disconnect with the relaxed, bohemian quality of the fabric.
Accessories should be chosen with the same principle in mind. Natural materials, chunky beads, woven bags, shell jewelry — these all complement granny square pants beautifully because they share a tactile, handmade quality. Lean into the earthy, artisanal energy and the whole look comes together with remarkable ease.
The most important thing is confidence. These pants are not a background piece. They are a statement, and the outfit only works if you wear them like you meant it.
Can You Make Your Own Granny Square Pants?
Absolutely, and this is part of what makes this trend so exciting from a craft perspective. Unlike many fashion trends that require expensive ready-to-wear pieces, granny square pants are something you can genuinely make yourself if you have crochet skills — or if you’re willing to develop them.
The basic granny square is considered one of the more beginner-friendly crochet patterns, which means that even newer crafters can produce the individual squares with a bit of practice. The more advanced part comes in the construction — planning how many squares you need, determining sizing, joining them in a way that creates the right shape for the pants, and finishing the waistband and hems professionally.
There are numerous free and paid patterns available online for granny square pants in a variety of styles — wide-leg, flared, straight, and more. YouTube tutorials from experienced fiber artists walk through the entire construction process from first square to finished garment. The crochet community is also famously generous with knowledge, so if you get stuck, you’ll find no shortage of help in online forums, subreddits, and dedicated Facebook groups.
Choosing your yarn is part of the creative fun. A cotton yarn will give you a lighter, more breathable garment that’s better suited for warmer weather. A wool blend will add warmth and drape. Color choice is entirely up to you — you can go traditional with a riot of contrasting colors, or keep it monochromatic for a more editorial, fashion-forward result.
If making your own pants sounds like too large a project right now, the granny square top is a natural starting point. Many of the same techniques apply, the construction is simpler, and a granny square crop top can be just as striking as the pants in its own right.
Where to Buy Granny Square Pants If You Don’t Crochet
For those who love the look but don’t have the time or inclination to make their own, there are plenty of places to find granny square pants.
Etsy is the obvious first stop. Independent makers and artisan designers have been creating and selling handmade crochet pants for years, and the variety is extraordinary. You’ll find everything from meticulously crafted heirloom-quality pieces to affordable everyday options. Buying from an independent maker also means you’re supporting a real human artist — someone who put genuine time and care into the garment you’re wearing.
Depop and other secondhand platforms are also worth searching. The surge in popularity of crochet means that vintage and secondhand pieces from the 1970s and subsequent boho revivals are now being sold with new awareness of their value. You might find genuine vintage granny square pieces that carry an authentic history.
Mainstream retailers have also caught on. Both fast fashion brands and mid-market retailers have introduced crochet pieces in response to the trend, though the quality and ethical considerations of fast fashion crochet are worth thinking about. Handmade crochet is inherently labor-intensive, and very cheap machine-made versions often miss the texture and spirit of the real thing.
Why This Trend Is More Than Just a Trend
The granny square pants moment that Coi Leray helped ignite taps into something deeper than seasonal fashion interest. It reflects a genuine cultural shift in how we think about clothing, craftsmanship, and value.
There is a growing movement, particularly among younger consumers, toward fashion that has a story — that was made by human hands, that connects to a tradition, that is unique rather than mass-produced. Crochet, and specifically the granny square, embodies all of those qualities. When you wear a garment made from individual crocheted squares, you are wearing something that required skill, patience, and intention. That is increasingly rare and increasingly prized.
At the same time, the embrace of crochet in mainstream fashion represents a kind of democratization. This is a craft that has traditionally been associated with elderly women, with domestic life, with the unglamorous work of making useful things. When Coi Leray wears granny square pants and looks undeniably cool doing it, she’s participating in a larger project of taking things that have been undervalued and putting them on the main stage where they belong.
That’s what great style has always done. It finds beauty in unexpected places, makes connections that weren’t obvious before, and changes the way we see things. A granny square is just yarn and a hook — until it becomes a pair of pants on the right person at the right moment, and then it becomes something you can’t stop thinking about.
Final Thoughts
Coi Leray in granny square pants is one of those fashion moments that captures something real about where culture is right now — nostalgic and forward-looking at the same time, handmade and celebrity-polished, rooted in craft tradition and completely at home on the most modern of feeds. Whether you’re a lifelong crocheter who feels vindicated, a fashion fan who just discovered this textile world, or someone who picked up a crochet hook for the first time after seeing those photos, the granny square has earned its place in the contemporary style conversation.
The trend isn’t going anywhere. If anything, as sustainability concerns continue to reshape fashion, as handmade objects continue to carry greater cultural cache, and as artists like Coi Leray continue to champion unexpected aesthetics, crochet is going to get bigger, bolder, and more beautifully complicated. Get your yarn ready.
