When The Society Archive, an “irreverent luxury” brand born from a vintage archive, displayed plaid boxer shorts inside a golden frame in its Paris Fashion Week showroom, it felt like a fun one-off gag. Turns out, it was a sign of things to come. 

This season saw an old-school variant of the humble boxer short, baggy and built from shirting fabric, thrust into the spotlight by being worn alone as thigh-bearing shorts à la Paul Mescal — Simone Rocha’s menswear debut saw little gingham briefs poke out beneath a floral embroidered shirt and LGN LOUIS GABRIEL NOUCHI’s pinstripe boxers pair with black leather boots — but more frequently as a vital styling tool.

Nobody worked harder to prove the styling power of the boxer short than Willy Chavarria, who infamously launched his luxury underwear line a few years back with tight-fitting and dirty-looking briefs. The vibe shifted for Spring/Summer 2027, with Chavarria’s new-season boxers notably looser and more colorful as they poked out atop trouser waistbands. They were also an essential flourish bringing each of those outfits together: One red pair of skivvies provided a pop of color against a lilac-blue suit and tucked-in light yellow shirt, a pale yellow pair was the connective tissue between khaki slacks and an off-white sweater, while some boxer shorts appeared twice, poking out above and beneath skimpy shorts. 

Meanwhile, LVMH Prize-winner Soshiotsuki is best known for the billowing proportions of its suits, but spliced between the flowy tailoring was one surprisingly skimpy number. A slim henley undershirt was tucked into striped pink drawers pulled up way above a pair of beige chino shorts and yet still reached below the shorts’ hem. Everyone was undies-maxxing. 

AURALEE used boxers as a quick hit of color, one blue floral pair being a point of contrast against a loose summer two-piece, while menswear line PRONOUNCE tucked its shirts into above-the-waist boxers. Hed Mayner, meanwhile, went a different route through pants so sheer that a pair of white striped boxers were on full display. 

This underpant experimentation serves to expose a garment typically left hidden away, a garment that is anything but a pair of tighty whities. All the SS27 boxers are wide and long, an elderly cut compared to more modern skintight Calvins, and often cut from cotton shirt fabric, striped or checked. 

Not only are the newest boxer shorts made from the same stuff as your finest button-down, but the SS27 school of styling dictates that picking the right pair of boxers is just as important to an outfit as the right shirt.

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