By now, it's rare for runways to bring forward ideas the world has never seen before. While the wheel isn't reinvented, it's still most certainly cyclical, with trends from the past resurfacing and reinterpreted through a modern lens. The latest of these reemerging trends is one that we all should have seen coming: hot pants.
Given that hemlines have increasingly gotten shorter as of late—as seen by the reign of micro mini skirts throughout all of 2022—it was only a matter of time until micro shorts entered the conversation. First, we saw hints of this during the Fall/Winter 2023 season, specifically on the Miu Miu runway (who unironically was also responsible for the micro mini skirt renaissance).
At this point, we should all be aware of the sequin Miu Miu underwear, as worn by Emma Corrin walking in the Fall/Winter 2023 show. And while that's technically underwear, Miuccia Prada flipped the script and turned it into outerwear, styled with a soft camel turtleneck, sheer tights, and orange pumps—just a casual day-to-day 'fit.
Then, we saw the surge in popularity of the no-pants look, cosigned by numerous celebrities, including but not limited to Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, and Rihanna.
While sequin knickers didn't exactly make the mood board this time around, the continuation of showing bare legs did, and hot pants were all over the Spring/Summer 2024 runways. A sexy micro hemline that is popularly credited to have gone mainstream during the '70s disco era due to its greater sign of liberation and women's freedom, designers are offering a new take on the garment for the modern age.
There's not much there to wear to begin with, so the devil is in the styling: Khaite leaned into a play on proportions, contrasting the revealing bottoms with voluminous, long-sleeve tops; Chloé also kept it covered on top, with a tailored, reconfigured, leather jacket; Prada found a way to make hot pants office-friendly, balancing the tiny silhouette with tucked in blazer tops.
Meanwhile, Coach embraced the bareness of it all, opting for a matching leather bra top and sheer dress layered on top. There was also Tom Ford, bringing sexy to new heights with its sultry hot pants paired with cardigans and unbuttoned louche blouses boasting a ruffled placket.
There's no use denying it: hot pants are going to be everywhere next spring. Whether you keep it polished like Prada or embrace the skin like Coach, it's certainly a fashion comeback that will have heads turned next spring. Find more style inspiration from the Spring/Summer 2024 runways below.
