Issey Miyake Wool Gabardine Pants

Gabardine is a tightly woven steep twill, historically a coating and tailoring cloth, and it is chosen when a garment needs to hold a line without stiffness. Here it is pure wool, double pleated at the waist and then flared rather than tapered, so the volume released by the pleats keeps travelling outward all the way to the hem instead of being drawn back in. That is the opposite of what gabardine is usually asked to do, and it produces a trouser that swings. The waist is only partially elastic, which is the detail that reconciles the two halves of the idea: it looks like tailoring from the front and behaves like something far easier to wear. The colour is named Nadeshiko Red, after the pink flower, and it is duskier and softer than “red” suggests.

Why we selected it

A proper wool tailoring cloth given a flared leg and a half-elastic waist is a much better everyday proposition than either a real tailored trouser or a soft one.

Issey Miyake‘s studio has a long habit of taking a formal cloth and removing the formality from the construction, and this trouser is a clean example.

Materials and construction

100% wool, made in Japan, in Nadeshiko Red. Gabardine weave, double pleated, with a flared leg and a partially elastic waist.

Fit notes

Double pleats at the waist give room through the hip and seat, and the flare carries that width down rather than closing it off. The partial elastic means the waist gives without looking elasticated. Wool gabardine has weight, so the leg falls and swings rather than floating.

Styling

The dusky red is more versatile than a bright one and sits well against cream, ivory, charcoal, and black. A neat top half is the right counterweight to the volume in the leg. Works for occasions where a trouser needs to look considered.

Care

Pure wool, so keep it away from agitation and heat, and let a professional clean handle it when it needs more than airing. Our fabric care guide has a section on wool.

Related pieces

The Rustic Silk Skirt is also cut around how a natural cloth falls, and the Campagne Pant is the technical answer to the same question. Everything we carry from Issey Miyake is listed together.