If you’re in the “bike shorts aren’t real legwear” mindset, you need to get over it. Even if you only halfway paid attention during the spring 2019 runway season, you couldn’t escape the feeling that you’d just walked into a Spin Class, as bike shorts cropped up everywhere from Maryam Nassir Zadeh to Chanel to Nina Ricci to Fendi. It certainly was enough to get Pinterest followers intrigued. Searches for “biker shorts” increased 1,323 percent since the catwalks recycled the trend that owes a lot of its original cache to the late Princess Diana, who rocked the look back in the mid-90’s.
This really shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, as “athleisure” has long transcended the transient nature of trends to become a bonafide staple in the fashion industry. Now models like Bella and Gigi Hadid and influencers (hello, Kim Kardashian West) alike have been sporting the comfy trend both on the catwalks and in their downtime. And actress Damaris Lewis even sported them on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. Expanding on Kardashian’s styling choices, they’ve proven that the shorts are surprisingly versatile, from casual streetwear to red carpet glamour, and that you can ride the trend into fall. And you’ll get plenty of mileage out of them since bike shorts made numerous appearances on the Spring 2019 runways, so they’ll still be in play once winter’s chill is a only a memory.
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