Item of the week: the micro shorts

What it is:

Move aside Miu Miu mini skirts, this summer it will be all about the micro shorts. The itsy bitsy hot pants were front and centre for SS24 collections, some in barely there cuts, others with retro-inspired waistlines. While celebs were stoking the flames of the micro shorts last year, their prevalence on the runway for the coming season only hints at their continued influence for the year ahead, as they begin to make their way onto the high street in all their flare and racy forms.

Why you’ll want it:

Likely arriving as an offset to the widely popular micro mini that swept collections over the past year, the teenie short trend is seemingly an evolution of this confidence-boosting way of dressing. As such, it has been heralded by women who are taking charge of their bodies and dressing in a way that makes them feel comfortable, a cultural mindset that has only grown in recent years and will continue well into the future. It is this that makes the micro shorts the perfect addition to this year’s summer wardrobe, offering shoppers a cool and trendy piece for their holiday suitcase.

Where we’ve seen it:

The range of micro shorts was massive for SS24, with the look seen on a huge number of runways in every fashion city. They also widely differed in styles and materials. Leather and PVC-like iterations, for example, could be seen in the collections of Isabel Marant, Chloé, Egonlab and Laquan Smith, the latter two offering up such minute silhouettes that the lining flared out below. Other brands favoured co-ords for their own takes. Alexander McQueen exhibited a structured denim jacket alongside its shorts, Victoria Beckham’s came with a matching oversized pink blouse and Christian Cowan’s fluffy-hemmed look was paired with a bustier and longline blazer.

How to style it:

Co-ords are indeed an effortlessly stylish way to adopt the micro shorts. Whether it be a fitted jacket or a flouncy blouse, the outfit will always come together in a way that is bang on trend and perfect for a beach getaway. The look can be further elevated using sleek knee-high boots – as seen in the styling of Alexander McQueen – or the even more summer-appropriate strappy sandals, which were present on the Chloé runway. As an alternative, avant-garde blouses were also a popular top half, and varied between body-hugging fits and exaggerated proportions.

This year is prime and ready to be the year of micro shorts summer. This natural evolution of the mini trend has already swept the world of celebrity, and as retailers begin to formulate their in-store collections, the shorts are only set to become a more permanent fixture in the casual closet.