I should’ve known that the “Show Toe” agenda was only the beginning. For years, everyone from Vibram and Bravest to Balenciaga has put their best foot forward, asking us to slide our little piggies into increasingly elaborate and/or ridiculous flip-flops and toe shoes. We’ve witnessed nightmare-fuel Foot Clogs and rage-baiting Chanel heel cups that barely count as footwear. Even Saint Laurent just stuffed toe into an ungodly transparent derby. 

Now, as Europe bakes under yet another historic heatwave (and warms at more than double the global rate), fashion designers are moving their gaze upward, asking us — no, daring us — to show leg.

I’m not talking shorter shorts or the bizarre insistence that skinny jeans are back. I am specifically talking about flashing sweaty, oft-hairy legs through a breezy layer of sheer fabric. Four separate fashion shows in Milan saw designers debut opaque pants and shorts that may look like a one-way ticket to an HR meeting should you deign to wear them to work, but are absolutely the most creative way to avoid heat death when stepping outside. 

Prada’s Spring/Summer 2027 menswear show took its titular “Clarity” to the most literal level: Six looks featured flashes of the models’ slim pins via translucent white pants punctured with subtle, ventilating perforations (plus one head-to-toe transparent white fit, down to the briefs, paired with strappy red shoes and a climbing gym-friendly belt bag).

A similar organza-like material made its way into the collections of Pronounce and Shinyakozuka, two indie brands coming from China and Japan, respectively. Pronounce showed transparent trousers and shorts in a range of shades, spanning grey, blue, yellow, and pink, while the sixth look of Shinya Kozuka’s watercolor-inspired collection paired a sheer blue jumpsuit with embroidered birds over a pair of more classic white shorts and sandals.

This dual display of leggy excess offered a more poetic take on the emerging trend, but it was Saul Nash’s Spring/Summer 2027 show that seems most likely to stick. Set in a gymnasium and inspired, naturally, by sportsmen, the collection showed why the brand’s namesake designer has become Lululemon’s go-to collaborator. 

Running shorts, track pants, and compression layers were all given the gossamer treatment, resulting in a fully see-through sports fit that segmented the model’s bulging body like an illustration of the muscular system in my high school anatomy textbook. 

Nash told Vogue of his semi-see-through clothes that “it’s up to you if you want to reveal the skin or put it away,” but really, that freedom might feel alien to the swarm of Paris Fashion Week attendees simply trying to survive shows in sweltering heat. 

Much of the fashion industry may still be on a slow walk toward designing for the reality of global warming, but it’s refreshing to see at least some designers acknowledge that, yes, dressing for blistering-hot temperatures will require not just showing toe but leg, too.

Highsnobiety has affiliate marketing partnerships, which means we may receive a commission from your purchase. Want to shop the products our editors actually love? Visit our SHOPPER page and subscribe to the newsletter for recs on all things fashion, footwear, and beauty.