Camiel Fortgens Trackpants

A track pant is normally a cotton loopback or a technical polyester, and this is neither. Sixty-five percent viscose is the fiber that changes it. Viscose is a regenerated cellulosic, made from plant material by a chemical route, and what it gives a trouser is drape: it falls straight down and keeps moving after the leg has stopped, which is the opposite of what a loopback sweatpant does. The polyamide at thirty percent supplies the abrasion resistance that viscose alone does not have, and the five percent elastane is what lets an elasticated waist recover instead of stretching out. The details are the house’s. Side slit pockets rather than patched ones, one zip pocket at the back, and hems left raw so the leg ends in a cut edge. The result is a track pant that hangs like a trouser.

Why we selected it

Almost every soft trouser offered to us is a heavy cotton jersey, and heavy cotton jersey goes shapeless at the knee within a season. This one is fluid rather than soft, which is a different thing and a much harder one to find.

The tracksuit is one of the archetypes this house works from most often, and this is the plainest and most wearable version of it.

Materials and construction

Sixty-five percent viscose, thirty percent polyamide, and five percent elastane, made in Portugal. Elasticated waist, side slit pockets, one zipped back pocket, raw hems. Color: Sport Blue.

Fit notes

The waist is elasticated, so the size is choosing the leg rather than the waist. Viscose has weight when it hangs and very little spring, so these settle in length on the first wearing and stay where they land. The raw hem means the leg ends in a cut edge that softens with washing rather than a turned and stitched one.

Styling

With the Track Jacket, which is cut from the same three fibers in the same Sport Blue, for the version that reads as a set. With the Big Tee LS. Under the Short Gap Coat when the top half should be doing something else entirely.

Care

Viscose governs this cloth even though it is a blend, and viscose is at its weakest when it is wet, so wash cool and briefly, and dry flat rather than in a machine. Shrinkage in a regenerated cellulosic does not come back. Keep heat away from the elastane. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The 150% Pants are polyester and wool in a crinkled cloth, on an elasticated waist with its edge left raw. Everything we carry from Camiel Fortgens is listed together.