Men can breathe a sigh of relief this week, thanks to Bad Bunny, whose debut collection for Zara includes a pair of shockingly normal mid-thigh shorts. For the last few years, short-shorts have threatened to make every day a leg day, but the sight of the Puerto Rican star wearing shorts that come comfortably to within a few inches of the knee signals a welcome shift for many.
Bad Bunny, or Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is not alone in his relatively modest hemline choice. As Hikmat Mohammed, beauty editor at Vogue Business, points out: “All the tennis players have been wearing longer shorts recently.” Grigor Dimitrov suffered a shock loss at Roland Garros this week wearing shorts of a similar length.
Mohammed says the move towards longer shorts may be about “relaxation, feeling maybe more comfortable in your body; it’s more slouchy.” A possible push factor emerged last week in the shape of Andy Burnham’s tiny running shorts, barely long enough to cover his tensor fasciae latae. While opinion was divided, it could have a similar effect to Rishi Sunak’s Adidas Sambas, which many hailed as the final nail in the coffin for the popular trainer.
The trend for short shorts arguably began to gather steam in 2020, when Paul Mescal was photographed wearing quasi hotpants. During a Saturday Night Live monologue, Mescal joked: “A lot of people ask if we wear kilts. No, that’s the Scottish. Traditionally, the Irish wear short-shorts.” In 2021, US actor Milo Ventimiglia went for not much more than a 1in seam, and in 2025, Alexander Skarsgård appeared on British breakfast TV in short-shorts, telling host Ranvir Singh: “I wanted to be sexy today.” Even M&S launched a selection of thigh-skimmers last year.
But regardless of what Bad Bunny wears, there will always be some who champion tiny shorts. Harry Styles, a short-shorts stalwart, appeared in tiny track-shorts in his latest video. For Mohammed, however, in 2026, “if you’re doing short-shorts, that can feel quite performative.” For anyone who hasn’t been following shorts trends like the FTSE 100, the shorts you have been wearing all along are fine.
