It-girls of our time such as Hailey Bieber, Addison Rae, Emily Ratajkowski and most famously the Kardashians truly dominated this trend.
The Kardashians and Jenners are probably the most famous influencers known for their general physique in their minimalistic, curve-embracing and athletic fashion sense.
But with any trend, especially in this micro trend era with the quick rise of 90’s trends, the easy accessibility and the biker shorts not limited to adored celebrities any status it had and it's hype quickly wore off.
During the end of the 19th century cycling became a safe and popular mode of transportation. At the time a bike called the penny-farthing, also known as “the ordinary” was the vehicle of choice. In 1885 it got replaced by the “safety bicycle” named because of the new alterations that were made, with equally sized wheels. Yet there was no special garment yet available for this practice. So specialized garments were a golden opportunity. Riders typically wore homemade wool shorts. Practice makes perfect so to solve the chafing problem a piece of leather was sewn into the seats of shorts. A “chamois” is a European mountain-goat-like animal, and the first chamois was made from actual chamois skin. After a kind of leather conditioner was applied to the chamois to soften it because of friction
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Originally the biker short has been around since the late 1800’s but it’s primary reason was always athletic, used mostly by cyclists.
Micro trend study; Biker shorts
from the people's princess to the influencer queen
For this trend case study I have chosen the infamous biker short. With the avid 90’s revival of the past decade and the popularization of said trend by celebrities it dominated the fashion cycle, although briefly.
I would state that the height of the trend this time around was from 2018 till 2021.
One other reason behind the popularization of this trend is the
2010’s obsession with ‘fit culture’ and a ‘clean girl eastatics’. The root lies within this age’s beauty standard and how social media and showing off a ‘fit’ figure plays a major role in this phenomenon.
wearing tight fitting clothes like athleisure wear became a highly popular form of social signaling.
“A social signal is defined as any action or overt behavior, regardless of its form, intent, or the performer’s awareness, that is carried out in the presence of another person.” - Gilbert K, Dove Press.
By wearing such pieces of clothing you were directly following the trend of being a fit looking, casually in style and clean girl.
Biker shorts are also an easily accessible clothing piece so this trend was for the general consumer a simple trend to follow.
Later on in the early ’50s. Silk was lighter and cooler than wool and took color much more vibrantly. So the biker short got an ever more lighter and casual feel.
The usage of the short changed circa the 1980’s when athleisure and athletic wear became mainstream. One could blame the popularity of the then new “at home workout videos”and the rise of fitness culture. Designs inspired by sportswear became rapidly avalible in every corner of the fashion market. The development and expansion of using plastic fibers in textiles made it easier to make elastic and breathable fabrics perfectly suited for sportswear.
Singling out the biker short though, this trend gained widespread popularity in the 1990’s thanks to its most famous and royal ambassador Diana Spencer or Lady Di.
Diana was often seen in these shorts especially after her divorce from Prince Charles at the time. Wearing outfits deemed as ‘common’ or ‘casual’ made her even more so relatable to the public. Clearly wearing just an oversized collage jumper and biker shorts isn’t an outfit suited for a nation's princes but as a new bachelorette and mom of two she was free to dress whoever she felt fit. Many deemed her outfits as she styled herself as simply iconic.
The public's perception was that it was authentic and many women could relate to her and said short on a personal level.
Back to now or more so 4 years ago when the biker short s started to pop up again. The 2010’s were all about the 90’s revival. It felt like every year a new 90’s trend crawled its way back in the cultural zeitgeist. It started with 90’s grunge or twee, later on came highwaisted jeans and more recently tiny or “fast” sunglasses. Also with the recent reappraisal of LadyDi through series as the crown and movies such as Spencer so came the reappearance of these shorts and looks. With this combined the biker shorts were back on our radar again.
