(Courtesy RMJM)

You know low-rise skinny jeans are over when someone builds a monument to them. Oh wait, that’s the RMJM’s Gate of the East! Located in Suzhou, a city west of Shanghai, the building is six times taller than the Arch de Triomphe and intended to commemorate China’s entrance into the global economic market. But as the skeletal structure began to be erected, some Suzhou citizens asked, “Um, doesn’t that look like a pair of pants?” Indeed, the almost-pointed arch evokes a cross-section of a gothic cathedral, or, to the modern eye, a pair of really tight trousers. But these aren’t just any pants. In a response published on Dezeen.com, RMJM pointed out the building’s many “feats,” including the highest swimming pool in China and the most use of steel per unit volume. “While some critics view the unfinished skeleton as a laughable pair of low-rise jeans, the gateway is a far cry from a joking matter,” said RMJM. (Hey, quit smirking!)