Issey Miyake Homme Plissé Basics Trousers

Rounded through the thigh is an unusual specification and it is the whole garment. Most trousers are cut either straight or tapered, both of which are essentially flat decisions about width. A rounded thigh means the leg is shaped in three dimensions to curve outward and then back in, so the trouser holds a soft volume at the top of the leg and narrows below it without ever creating a crease or a hard line. Combined with the pleating, which supplies a fine vertical texture across that curve, the result is a trouser with genuine shape and no sharpness anywhere in it. Sleek and effortless are the right words for it: the garment reads as considered at a glance and turns out, on closer inspection, to contain no tailoring whatsoever.

Why we selected it

A rounded thigh is a three-dimensional cut and very few trousers attempt it. It gives the leg shape without a single hard edge, which is exactly what this cloth is good at.

The colour

Navy is the version that reads closest to conventional trousering, which makes the rounded cut the only thing announcing itself. It is the easier of the two to build a wardrobe around and the harder of the two to notice, in the good sense.

Materials and construction

100% polyester, made in the Philippines, in navy. Pleated, rounded through the thigh.

Fit notes

Rounded through the thigh and narrowing below, so it holds volume at the top of the leg. Pleated cloth opens as it is worn, giving more room in motion than at rest.

Styling

Navy goes with more than black does and sits particularly well against ivory, grey, and rust. The rounded leg wants a top half that is not too long, so the shape at the thigh stays visible.

Care

The pleats are heat-set into the polyester and are permanent, so they wash without losing them. Wash at 30°C or below in a laundry net on a short cycle, or press gently by hand, and never tumble dry, iron, steam, or dry clean. Store rolled along the direction of the pleats. Our fabric care guide covers polyester and technical cloth.

Related pieces

The same trouser in Plum Violet is the sibling colourway. Then the Basics Jacket and the Basics Shirt. There is more on the house on the Issey Miyake designer page. Everything we carry from Issey Miyake is listed together.