The Iceland-born musician Laufey’s video for “Madwoman” just dropped. Featuring Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams, Olympian Alysa Liu, The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Lola Tung, and Katseye’s Megan Skiendiel, it’s packed with enough fandom-bridging cameos to keep FYPs busy for the next 72 hours. But somewhere in the middle of all the madness, there’s one detail that we keep going back to: Williams’s swim shorts.
The actor—who was dressed for the video by his own stylist, Anastasia Walker—wore shorts from from Tom Ford, which were cut in Italy and covered in lots of polka dots (a signature of creative director Haider Ackermann). Befitting the video’s 1960s-suburbia theme, the trunks are neither a long Y2K-throwback boardshort or overly steamy thirst-trap short shorts. These get it just right, sitting on the mid thigh for a clean finish—and a very flattering choice if you’ve been on an ice-hockey-player fitness routine like Williams. At one point during the video, he wears them with a white tank top stamped with a giant “H” across the chest. Subtle enough.
The polka-dot trunks also perfectly tie in with one of this season’s biggest trends. For spring 2026, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Wales Bonner, and many others have been treating shorts like actual trousers, just with less fabric: neater lines, proper structure, sitting mid-thigh instead of halfway up it. Williams’s Tom Ford swimmers even come with a built-in fastened belt that looks genuinely smart.
And think of Williams himself, who has come into his own as a fashion guy. The Canadian actor is having an insane run: In January, he walked for Dsquared2 in Milan. A few weeks later, he popped up as the new face of Balenciaga. There are other brand opportunities, too; just this week, he’s sweating it up for Peloton. Busy doesn’t really cover it. And somewhere in the middle of all that, he’s found time to throw Fashion Week parties and casually reset the agenda on what you should be wearing when the temps creep up. He’s become a menswear star as much as he is a TV star.
Listen, nobody’s saying you should step out in swim shorts tomorrow (depending on where you live, it’s possibly still very chilly). But, when the weather does finally sort itself out, you know to reach for a classic pair just like the Madman himself.
Tom Ford
Straight-Leg Short-Length Polka-Dot Swim Shorts
A version of this story originally appeared in British GQ.