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From Tokyo to London, heatwaves send men to work in shorts

On August 24, scorching summer temperatures accomplished what decades of dress-down Fridays could not—getting men to wear shorts to the office, as Tokyo's metropolitan government expanded its 'Cool Biz' campaign to encourage staff to ditch long trousers and wear T-shirts and sneakers.
Marks and Spencer reported men's linen trouser sales jumped 183% in June to July, while H&M, one of Europe's biggest fashion retailers, is bringing in lighter clothes and delaying autumnal lines, as H&M's Andreas Lowenstam stated, 'It looks like we're not going back when it comes to climate change.'
In Warsaw, a bus driver named Darek protested his uniform this month by wearing a skirt, saying, 'These materials make us sweat and overheat,' and a petition launched by his colleagues asking transport authority ZTM to allow shorts collected more than 400 signatures.
Hugo Boss capitalized on shifting preferences by expanding its tailored shorts assortment, launching the 'Boss by Beckham' range with soccer star David Beckham offering cotton shorts for €229, as menswear buyer Martha Hibberd noted lines between 'commuter' and 'holiday' style are blurring.
Occupational health expert Moriz Tiedemann at IG Metall warned, 'Summers are getting hotter, heat waves are becoming more frequent, and the strain on workers is noticeably increasing,' while Germany's unions urged dress codes be relaxed during high temperatures, though Swiss Re maintained 'shorts are for weekends.

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