NEW YORK — How does a seemingly unusual trend — to wit, harem pants — end up on almost every runway at New York Fashion Week?

The spring previews, entering the home stretch on Thursday with runway shows from Calvin Klein and Vera Wang, brought together more than 100 designers. But the fashion world is a small one, after all.

For harem pants, the seed may lie across the Atlantic, where the look was reportedly worn by a very chic French editor. Fashion designers visit the same cities, see the same people, stay in the same hotels and see the same art exhibits.

“Fashion designers see someone like her and think they look cool,” says Amy Astley, editor in chief of Teen Vogue. “Trends by their very nature aren’t for everyone, but everyone likes to try them.”

The trouble is, it’ll be hard for anyone who is not a tall, slim French editor to pull off such draped, billowy pants. But that didn’t stop anyone from Phi, showing Thursday, to Proenza Schouler, Miss Sixty, Betsy Johnson, Nicole Miller and Tahari from sending them down the runway. New York Fashion Week wraps up Friday.

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