By Mark DiSalvo

There’s a new trend in men’s fashion creating a buzz from media giants like Yahoo! and Howard Stern: leggings on men. But these are not around-the-house thermal underwear legging; this latest trend is meant to be worn in public, without any other coverage.

Marni, an Italian clothing company, recently unveiled men’s leggings in its latest male line. The undergarment-like item was paired with sport coats and low-cut leather boots.

The leggings were the brainchild of Marni designer Consuelo Castiglioni, who has been designing women’s clothes for about 10 years. She is currently branching into men’s fashion, with the leggings as part of her inaugural line, according to Marni’s website.

While the latest fashion trend may seem outrageous to some, Jay Calderin, director of creative marketing at the School of Fashion Design in Boston, said male leggings could easily break into the mainstream.

“I believe when you appeal to a man on the level of comfort you’re always going to find takers,” he said. “Since workout wear has become a part of our fashion vocabulary, it’s easy to imagine men enjoying the ease of wearing a new streamlined version of the sweatpant to express their own personal style.”

Whether it remains confined to the runways or becomes the hottest item in men’s fashion, reception of this item is mixed.

When told about the line, Brian Miglionico, a middler biochemistry major, said leggings will never be his style, no matter how popular they become.

Jeff Lyons, a sophomore theatre major, agreed.

“You would never catch me wearing that, ” he said.

However, some women were more divided on the trend.

“I like it. I think that’s hot,” said Kristy Alano, a middler accounting major.

Despite Alano’s enthusiasm for the legging look, she said she doesn’t think the world is quite ready for it.

“I think it could happen, like 10 years down the road – not now,” she said.

But Serrano Legrand, a freshman business major, was more hopeful for the future of leggings on men.

“Honestly, yes, anything could take off, especially with fashion,” he said. “People like to express themselves; I could see a guy waking up one morning and saying, ‘I want to wear leggings.'”

With some trend-conscious men already wearing women’s jeans, it seems tight is already en vogue in the men’s fashion world, Calderin said. Still, the transition from tight jeans to leggings is hardly a given. If anyone were to get the ball rolling on this trend, it would be the “fashion-forward types,” said freshman Kristin Mozian, an international business major.

But some students said a new focus on leggings is far too feminine to catch on.

“I don’t think a lot of guys would wear that,” said Casey Terp, a freshmen international business major. “Tight jeans are one thing, but leggings?”