While the verdict is still out on whether these men's slacks by discount casual wear designer GU will spark a new fashion trend, Japanese observers on Twitter, where the slacks have gone viral, already seem to agree one one thing: the design is really good at drawing attention to your crotch.

Part of a collaboration between GU and the acclaimed British designer Kim Jones, who just finished his seven-year tenure as men's artistic director for Louis Vuitton to become artistic director for Dior Homme, these "Slim Tapered Pants (color block)" have been raising eyebrows due its placement of the zipper flap that demands attention due to its size and, perhaps more obviously, the fact that it is colored completely differently from the rest of the fabric.

Could these slacks be as attention-grabbing as Twitter users claimed? After all, promotional images sometimes vary from the actual product. Maybe it's more subtle when you buy it in the store...

The only way to know for sure was to buy a pair for ourselves. Since they are reasonably priced at 990 JPY (before tax), and a GU store happens to be located 5 minutes from our office, we did the necessary in the name of journalism...

And this was the result:

...Subtle it isn't.

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On Twitter, many people weighed in on these uniquely designed slacks. Here are some of the more interesting reactions we found:

---"These GU slacks. What is this? Is this kind of design fashionable these days? These pants are so embarrassing, I could never wear them. Is it my fashion sense that's wrong? Why did they change the color right there?"

---"After wearing it for a while, maybe it gradually becomes the same color."

---"Like codpieces which were popular in France in the old days."

---"Is this what you were going for, GU?"

---"This is what it reminded me of."

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You can check out the complete line of Kim Jones GU Production clothes on their website here.