TOAs soon as the temperatures rise, the wardrobe becomes shorter and lighter, with the risk of becoming too simple. To avoid looks without character, but at the same time fresh, here they come knickerbockershalfway between the desire to discover oneself and the desire to stay dressed. Neither Bermuda shorts, nor culottes, nor cropped: they have a silhouette all their owna little dandy, a little holiday, surprisingly elegant if worn with the right look.
Wide enough, spectacular without excess, they let the leg and the look breathe. The chicest response to the heat? It doesn’t always fit in a light dress: sometimes it stops below the knee.
Where we have already seen them
Before becoming a catwalk temptation, knickerbockers went a long way: from nineteenth-century military uniforms of the zouaves, French units of North African inspiration, at sports uniforms, up to the women’s wardrobe of twentieth century, when freer silhouettes began to question the very idea of elegance. Today they return without nostalgia, more sophisticated than folkloristic.
Altuzarra Spring-Summer 2026. (Spotlight Launchmetrics)
On the Spring-Summer 2026 catwalks they reappeared in many variations, often close to the imagery of balloon pants and harem pants. From Altuzarra, in particular, the model black extend the shape up to the ankle: wide on the leg, narrow at the bottomconstructed with folds that start lower and leave the upper part of the bust clean, almost bandaged.
How to match knickerbockers without losing your bearings
Altuzarra pairs them with a white sleeveless topwith slightly high collar and graphic print. The outfit works because it plays on opposites: lots of volume underneath, a clean line above, with pointed sligbacks to elongate the legs and gold earrings to complete.
Knickerbockers according to Altuzarra SS26. (Spotlight Launchmetrics)
For the office, better to choose them in linen, compact cotton or fresh light wool, with a masculine shirt, tailored waistcoat or tight-fitting top and slingback. In his free timehowever, they can lighten up with ribbed tank tops, flat sandals, espadrilles or mesh ballet flats.
The trick is not to add too much: knickerbockers already have enough personality to hold up the look on their own.
