The Most Wanted · Summer Trends
The Silk Short
A silk short is not loungewear that escaped. Cut it like a trouser that stopped early.
A silk short is not loungewear that escaped. Cut it like a trouser that stopped early.
The silk short earned its place because it does the work of a skirt without the performance of one. Bias, tap, a hem that moves — and a flip-flop or a flat that keeps it from becoming lingerie on the street.
The length is the whole argument. Too short and it is a sleep set. Too long and it is a failed culotte. The ones that work hit high on the thigh and look pressed.
Here is the mistake. Pairing them with a matching silk camisole and calling it an outfit. That is a bedroom. Put a proper shirt or a knit over them.
Wear them the way you would wear a silk skirt — with something more serious on top.
Mine are the Zimmermann Roselight Cotton & Silk Shorts. Dark silk, a white shirt, a flat. Ivory shorts ask too many questions.— K.W., Editor-in-Chief
Silk short, tucked shirt, a belt, a flat sandal.
The same short, a fine knit, a mule.
Matching silk set in daylight. Keep the top from another drawer.
Every piece in the edit — tap to shop the whole look.
The silk tap short is the cool-girl short of summer 2026 — the dainty, high-cut, lingerie-inspired pair that has slipped out of the boudoir and onto the street. After seasons of tailored Bermudas, fashion wants ease and a little sensuality: a fluid, lustrous short you throw on with an oversized tee and flat sandals and look instantly, effortlessly expensive. Dôen leads with its cult Iona pair — perpetually sold out — while Éterne, Nili Lotan and Ginia offer the barely-there silk versions the fashion set is living in. It is the shortest, chicest thing you can wear all summer.
The Iona, lace on silk. Not loungewear that escaped — shirt over.
The Iona, lace on silk. Not loungewear that escaped — shirt over.
Iona in green satin. The colour is the event. White shirt.
The Lane in black. The pair you can wear after six.
Gale silk. Simple short. The test: would you wear them with a blazer.
Lace knicker short. Bedroom cut — only with a serious jacket, or not at all in daylight.
The Frances in brown silk. Tobacco. Grown.
Add a whisper of lace at the hem and the silk short turns from easy to devastating. The lace-trimmed pair is the most romantic take on the trend — the trim edge that reads as pure lingerie-dressing, done with enough restraint to wear out. Nina Ricci and Carine Gilson bring the couture-level delicacy, while Eres, Reformation and Frame offer the softer, more wearable versions. Styled with nothing but a fine knit or a slouchy shirt, it is the short that makes the simplest outfit feel considered.
Nina Ricci lace satin. Evening short. Mule, not a flip-flop.
Stripe and lace. Two ideas — keep the top plain.
Eres, pink lace satin. Lingerie house, clothing rules.
Yellow silk, lace trim. Bright. Navy or white above.
Carine Gilson. The lace short with a house behind it.
When the short does the talking, the outfit is finished before you add a thing. The printed silk short is the maximalist end of the trend — painterly florals, foulard motifs and resort prints on lustrous silk twill that carry a plain tee or camisole entirely. Pucci brings its psychedelic heritage, Zimmermann its romance, Eres its polish. It is the piece that turns getting dressed into one decision: put on the short, and stop.
The Arjun print. Twill short. Print is enough.
Roselight cotton and silk. Day short. Easier than pure lace.
Pucci pink print. The short is the print. Stop.
Playa, blue silk. Holiday name, still a short that needs a shirt.
For the days you want a little more length, the satin Bermuda is the elevated answer — the longer, fluid cut that reads polished rather than sporty, worn with a heel or a flat alike. Toteme leads with its embroidered silk pairs, La DoubleJ brings the print, and Reformation keeps it easy in ivory. It is the short that takes you from a long lunch to the evening without a second thought — proof that covering a little more can look like the most expensive choice of all.
The Clara Bermuda, ivory. Longer. The one that looks like clothes at lunch.
La DoubleJ print Bermuda. Length helps. Still only one print.
Longline silk. Between a short and a skirt. Shirt tucked.
Toteme embroidered twill, black. Evening short without lace.
Toteme embroidered, neutral. Day version of the black.
Every silk short ends the same way: at the flip-flop. The elevated thong sandal is the shoe the fashion set has chosen to finish the look — flat, minimal, quietly expensive, the antidote to the sneaker. The Row leads the movement with its cult leather pair (and the platform Ginza), Saint Laurent brings the polish, while A.Emery, Aeyde and St. Agni keep it easy. Bare, tanned, and effortless — it is the shoe that makes the whole thing look accidental, which is exactly the point.
The Row Beach, white leather. A flip-flop that is still a shoe.
The Ginza platform. Height on a flip-flop — simple hem.
Saint Laurent Pool, black. The evening flip-flop, if you insist.
The Melody, white leather. Less famous, same job as the Row Beach.
Woven black leather. Texture on the foot. Plain short.
The Jo in PVC. Jelly energy. Severe silk above.
The Kinto, black leather. Simple. The pair if you only buy one.
Every piece in this edit, by the houses behind it. Explore them all.
A little bare, a little expensive — the easiest, chicest thing you will wear all summer.— ESVRA