For spring/summer 2024, the return of the hot pant

For those who are still not ready to rock up to the office in their knickers, hot pants so too took over the runways this season, leading us even further into the looming territory of indie sleaze's triumphant resurgence.

For those who are still not ready to rock up to the office in their knickers, hot pants so too took over the runways this season, leading us even further into the looming territory of indie sleaze's triumphant resurgence.

Spring/summer 2024 was a season full of firsts, lasts, and comebacks. Sabato De Sarno presented his debut collection for Gucci during Milan Fashion Week and Christopher Esber held his first on-schedule Paris Fashion Week show, while Sarah Burton her last for Alexander McQueen after two decades at the House. Maison Margiela returned to ready-to-wear after a hiatus, and at Vogue World in London, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell closed the show together–appearing on the runway together for the first time in decades. One return, however, that has been lingering in the mind since the beginning of the month, is the hot pant.

We have covered the burgeoning concept of underwear as pants extensively this season thanks to brands like Miu Miu and Bottega Veneta, but for those who are still not ready to rock up to the office in their knickers, there is another alternative: hot pants. Which also took over the runways this season, leading us even further into the looming territory of indie sleaze's triumphant resurgence.

Gucci spring summer 24

Any loyal follower of Hedi Slimane would know that the designer has been pushing the hot pant agenda at Celine for a few seasons now, all low slung and high cut. So high that they may as well be undergarments, not high enough that they actually are. This season, we saw an increase in interest towards the style, the term of which was first coined back in the ’70s, where the shortest shorts had just started to take over the trend cycle after moving further and further away from the ultra-conservative ’50s and the slightly more daring ’60s. The ’70s was all in–thighs out, slick with revolution and free love.

Gucci spring summer 24

The tiny shorts had a second coming in the late aughts and early to mid 2010s, on the high street it was American Apparel disco shorts and slashed, low rise daisy dukes. Now, as fashion begins to revisit stylistic tentpoles of the previous decade, hot pants are seemingly on the rise.

Dion Lee spring summer 24

They were perhaps most notable, ironically, at Gucci and Tom Ford this season. Sabato De Sarno sent a trio of glossy patent hot pants down the runway for his debut, Kering's rumoured desire to harken back to Tom Ford's blockbuster era at the House laden in the air. Meanwhile at Tom Ford, where Peter Hawkings had the titanic task of filling Ford's recently vacant shoes, did so by referencing his mini velvet short suits from Ford's tenure at Gucci in the early ’00s.

Chanel spring summer 24

At Dion Lee, the Australian designer opted for high-waist versions, some crafted of laced up leather and others of denim. Even the notoriously demure Chanel got involved, paring colourful jackets with tiny cotton shorts. At Miu Miu, Mrs Prada opted out of the corduroy hot pants she introduced last season in favour of even smaller, speedo-like bottoms. Could they be classified as underwear? Perhaps, but we might still try our hand at getting into the bar wearing them. 

Miu Miu spring summer 24

Originally published as For spring/summer 2024, the return of the hot pant