Sheer is hot, sheer is in. At Paris Fashion Week, which just wrapped up, everyone was going see-through: Margiela, Valentino, Armani, Dior. Saint Laurent had such a preponderance of sheer, and such a lack of undergarments, that Vanessa Friedman, the Times’ fashion critic, demanded, “Enough with the boobs.”

Nowhere has sheer made as much of a splash as in the summer collection of what might be called the House of Major League Baseball. Baseball fashion has been stale. What was once avant-garde (the pantaloon, the stirrup, the male stocking, the chubby old manager inexplicably kitting up in full uniform) has become passé. Boldness was needed. The league delivered, when spring training opened, with new uniforms designed by Nike and manufactured by the apparel company Fanatics. “2024 MLB season brings latest on-field innovation to forefront with Nike Vapor Premier Jerseys,” the league declared. In a lot of ways, the new uniforms look like the old ones. The designers say they are cooler, stretchier, and faster-drying. Embroidery is on its way out. Press-on patches are in. But the most daring feature is that you can see the players’ underpants. The new thin fabric is completely sheer.

As with a provocative runway show, some people were scandalized. Innovation was apparently not the only thing the designs brought to the forefront; a few players, caught bending over, or just sitting down, displayed silhouettes of genitals which were remarkable for their clarity and detail. One player reportedly resorted to buying his own pants at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Perhaps there was a deeper artistry at work. Was this a subversion of the male gaze? A sly reference to the nude, oil-slicked competitors of the ancient Olympics? Shrinkflation? The M.L.B. commissioner, Rob Manfred, predicted the start of a trend. “I think after people wear them a little bit, they’re going to be really popular,” he said.

But just how popular? Could see-through baseball pants become the must-have garment of 2024? A few fashion experts convened to review the spring-training look book.

Isaac Mizrahi, designer: “I first started going to baseball games when I was in my twenties and I had a boyfriend who loved the Yankees. Part of the reason I liked to go is they’re not badly shaped, these gentlemen. It’s like going to the ballet. If you like bodies—and I like bodies—to some extent, you’re kind of excited when you first hear something like this. But this? This has a creep connotation. It’s none of our business.”

Stan Herman, designer and business-uniform specialist: “Sheer is the No. 1 thing on the runway, but that doesn’t translate to men who are sliding into second base.”

Robin Ghivan, Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion critic for the Washington Post: “I think a designer could play around with the idea of baseball uniforms, but the point of the aesthetic experiment would be to see either how you could improve upon it or exaggerate elements that make it distinctive. This just creates a very weird diaper-like shadow underneath these pants, because of the way they have to wear these uniforms tucked in.”

Mizrahi: “I bet they must have had to commit to a lot of yardage. You’re talking about a lot of yards, darling. So it’s not a little mistake.”

Herman: “You might get away with a sheer neckline, but waist down? No way. And white? No. That’s one of the Ten Commandments.”

Mizrahi: “Sheer goes in and out. You get tired of people being so careful, and you want to go fabulous. Maybe give it a minute and it’ll catch on.”

Herman: “I think Miuccia Prada did it beautifully the season before. They were throwing an envelope of sheer over solids.”

Mizrahi: “You think about Saint Laurent in the seventies. He did suits with sheer blouses. They were completely sheer, you saw through them, and it was fine. It was very chic. . . . If this were an intentional thing, I would be, actually, pleased and happy. Like, they were so unself-conscious about their bodies that they were able to show them off. Baseball, it’s an elegant sport. I always think of them twinkling around the diamond. They twinkle! I was always a Steinbrenner nut because he made them shave, he made them cut their hair.”

Ghivan: “The sheerness is the least of the problems here. They look so uptight. Why are the shirts tucked in? They look like they’re going to some strange baseball office, not onto the diamond. And are those belts? What’s going on there? Why are there belts when they’re playing sports?”

Did the experts have any style tips?

“You could easily do an undergarment workaround,” Ghivan said. “You should wear something that matches your skin tone.”

“You could put long johns on,” Herman suggested. “Or just smile and just let the world know what your shape is.” He added, “I will tell you, a whole bunch of new people will be going to the games.” ♦