The internet has barely recovered from the emergence of images of a bronzed and bloodied Paul Mescal in a Roman kilt and breastplate (and smoking a cheeky cig!) to film fight scenes for Gladiator II in Hove, East Sussex. Now Instagram users—not to mention all staffers in possession of a sex drive in the Vogue office—are indulging in another collective swoon at the sight of Maynooth’s favorite export sporting a pair of tantalizingly short boxer shorts at the spring 2025 Gucci show in Milan, paired with come-to-bed unbuttoned shirting and the Florentine brand’s signature Horsebit loafers.
This latest thigh sighting comes just weeks after Instagram meme account @real_housewives_of_clapton reposted an Instagram Story of an adrenaline-fueled jogger who had beaten her own PB while tailing a sports short-clad Mescal as he ran along Regent’s Canal. Whether picking up a packet of prawn cocktail crisps from the Co-Op in Homerton, or a healthier snack from Sweetgreen in New York, Mescal can almost always be trusted to sport short shorts.
His affinity chimes with that of Gucci’s creative director Sabato de Sarno, who for his debut spring 2024 women’s collection honed in on no fewer than 19 pairs of hot pants, and approximately zero pairs of trousers. The brand’s newly-minted spring 2025 offering also features a scintillating selection of upper thigh-skimmers, from leather boxer shorts to hot-pink swimmers. Whatever pair Paul decides to sport next, his Gladiator II-trained thighs will doubtless command the attention of the internet.