Lemaire Twisted Hem Skirt

Three separate asymmetries are working on this skirt at once, and the reason it does not look chaotic is that each one is doing a different job. The waist is asymmetrical, so the top edge does not sit level and the skirt is already off-axis before it starts. The hem is twisted, which rotates the bottom edge in relation to the top, so the two ends of the garment are no longer aligned with each other and the cloth has to spiral between them. And there is a side slit, which opens one point of that spiral and lets the leg through it. The result is a skirt that reads differently from every angle: there is no front and back to it in the usual sense. The cloth is what allows this. At 43% wool, 38% viscose, 14% polyamide, and 5% elastane, it is a blend built for drape and recovery rather than for warmth. The wool gives it body, the viscose gives it fluidity and a slight sheen, the polyamide gives it strength at the fine gauge such a blend implies, and the elastane is what lets a twisted hem hold its rotation instead of gradually pulling itself straight. Take the elastane out and this shape would not survive a season.

Why we selected it

The construction is genuinely three ideas rather than one, and the blend is engineered to hold them. A twisted hem in a fabric with no recovery would droop.

The Twisted line applied to a skirt, where the rotation happens between the waist and the hem rather than down a leg.

Materials and construction

43% wool, 38% viscose, 14% polyamide, and 5% elastane. Midi length with an asymmetrical waist, a side slit, and a twisted hem. Made in Portugal, in anthracite.

Fit notes

Fitted at the waist, and the asymmetrical waistband means it sits at slightly different heights around the body by design rather than by accident. The slight elastane content gives it recovery, so it will return to shape after wear rather than seating out. Midi length. We do not hold measurements, and there is no Lemaire size chart on this site.

Styling

With three asymmetries already in play, the top half should be simple and the shoe should be plain. Anthracite is a dark neutral grey that sits with black without matching it, which is the more interesting pairing.

Care

A four-fibre blend takes its instructions from its most delicate component, and here that is the elastane, which is degraded by heat more than by anything else. Keep it away from hot water, hot drying, and a hot iron, all of which will slacken the recovery the shape depends on. Our fabric care guide has a section on garments that are more than one material, and one on elastane and acrylic in blends.

Related pieces

The Balloon Skirt is the silk one. The Twisted Top and the Straight Collar Twisted Shirt carry the same construction, and the Soft SB Jacket goes over it. Everything we carry from Lemaire is listed together.