Engineered Garments Natural Cotton Heavy Fatigue Pant

A basket weave is a plain weave with the threads taken in groups rather than one at a time, two over two or more, so that the interlacings are further apart and the cloth has fewer of them per inch. Two things follow. It is softer and more pliable than a plain weave of the same weight, because there are fewer locking points holding it rigid, and it has a visible chequered surface at close range that no other basic weave produces. Run heavy, as here, that combination is unusual: most heavy cottons are heavy and stiff, and this one is heavy and supple.

In natural, undyed or nearly so, the structure is the only thing to look at, which is why the weave is the argument. A pale, heavy, textured cotton cut on a straight fatigue leg is one of the quietest trousers this house makes, and it will pick up every mark it ever encounters and be better for it.

Why we selected it

Heavy cottons are usually rigid and this one is not, which is a real distinction and not a marketing one. Natural is the colour that shows what the weave is doing.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton in a heavy basket weave, made in the USA. Straight leg on a fatigue pattern. Colour: Natural.

Fit notes

Straight through the leg rather than tapered or wide, so it falls from the knee without narrowing. Heavy basket-weave cotton has more give than its weight suggests and will soften substantially across the first season. Expect it to shrink slightly on a first wash, as any heavy undyed cotton does.

Styling

With the Bedford Jacket in black moleskin, which is the pairing this house draws most often. With the Indigo Denim Utility Jacket. With the Work Shirt in natural, for a tonal reading.

Care

Wash cool and hang to dry. Natural cotton takes a stain readily and gives it up reluctantly, so deal with a mark quickly. Avoid bleach entirely: an undyed cotton has nowhere to hide a bleach mark. Our cotton care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The FW24 FA Pant in black is the pocketed version of this trouser and the Olive Cotton Reverse Sateen Fatigue Pant the olive one. The Bedford Jacket in black moleskin is the jacket drawn against it, with the Work Shirt in natural underneath. There is more on the house on the Engineered Garments designer page. Everything we carry from Engineered Garments is listed together.