Tolami Benson Lion Shorts

The Lion, the Lion, he dwells in the Waste,
He has a big head and a very small waist;

Hilaire Belloc

The Tolami Benson Lion shorts project was another one that came to me through Loom App, they approached me about a PR project for an unknown celeb in preparation for the World Cup. Tolami turned out to be that celebrity and wore them to the first England game of the World Cup 2026

Tolami cam up with the idea for the lion with a frayed edge without really knowing if it would be possible. As she wanted them on a finished pair of shorts it made it considerably more complicated as the two parts had to be embroidered separately but matching once the fly is closed. They fraying helped with make this work as it obscures the join between the two halves.

The frayed effect was relatively easy to develop, usually I would applique the added fabric flat but in order to get an even fray, `I cut strips of fabric on the grain and applied them into the satin stitch straight so that is was easier to fray it after by removing the weft grains leaving the warp secured by the embroidery. The fraying was a little time consuming but quite satisfying.

I love how Tolami styled the shorts in the end and made them into a really striking piece. It would seem the fashion press agree with the look being featured in British Vogue, Vanity Mag, Red Carpet, Versus and Grazia to name a few.

Image above and far right credit to Tolami Benson Instagram