Rip short hem to denim outfit (4)
I believe the answer is:
team
'outfit' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'rip short hem to denim' is the wordplay.
'rip' becomes 'tear' (synonyms).
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'hem' suggests the final letters (I've seen 'hem of' mean this (hem can mean an edge or border)).
The last letter of 'denim' is 'm'.
'tear' with its last letter taken off is 'tea'.
'tea'+'m'='TEAM'
(Other definitions for team that I've seen before include "A set of players or workers" , "Squad; side" , "Company" , "Cooperating group" , "Crew" .)