JORTS AND ALL

AS we near summer, Olivia Petter examines how the kneelength denim shorts have taken over the sartorial zeitgeist, becoming a rare fashion trend that transcends generations

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Just when you thought Y2K fashion couldn't get any more ludicrously unflattering - sheer dresses! Baby tees! Low-rise jeans! – along came jorts. Not to be confused with jogging shorts, as the portmanteau suggests, I'm talking about awkwardly long denim shorts. You know the ones. Longline, loose-fitting enough to create a breeze, skimming just above or below the knee – usually worn by supermodels (Gigi Hadid, Hailey Bieber), celebrities (Simone Ashley, Emily Ratajkowski), and intimidatingly cool Gen-Zers – jorts are officially summer’s hottest trend.

The trouble is that they’re hideous. OK, admittedly they look cool on tall, long-legged, famous women who’ve been professionally styled, blow-dried and manicured. But that clientele could turn a bin bag into a viral trend. They aren’t exactly the best metric. Even though we all understand this trickery, jorts have been infiltrating runways, high street shops, and Instagram feeds everywhere in the run-up to sunnier climes, telling us all that these strange, skaterboy shorts will look good on us all.

As with all dubious fashion trends, it can be hard to know where to place the blame. In fashion-speak, this particular one can be traced back to spring/summer 2023, when Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, and Fendi all featured variations in their collections. This was quickly followed by Coperni and Valentino, whose jorts came complete with colourful embroidered hems. But now you can find jorts literally anywhere. For the straightforward, plain pair, you can head to heritage denim brands like Levi’s and Wrangler. For something a little different, there’s Damson Madder and Ganni, whose jorts come with cargo pockets, or you’ll find sophisticated, well-made but simple pairs in Arket, Frame, and Cos. In other words, jorts are completely unavoidable. Oddly, I seem to be in the minority of people who are unhappy about this.