Lemaire Twisted Pants

This is the Twisted idea with everything else stripped away, and it is the version that shows most clearly what the twist actually does. A conventional trouser leg is two panels joined at the inside and the outside, which means the cloth hangs as two flat planes meeting at two straight lines. Rotating that seam breaks the arrangement. The fabric is no longer hanging in planes; it is wrapping continuously around the leg, so the trouser reads as a sculptural form rather than as a construction, and the drape runs in a slow spiral down the leg instead of dropping vertically. On a cotton with some weight to it the effect is sustained all the way to the hem, because the cloth has enough body to hold the curve it has been given. There is no pocket detailing to speak of, no hardware, and no surface interest. The shape is the whole garment, which is a demanding way to make a trouser and the reason this one is worth looking at closely rather than quickly.

Why we selected it

It is the purest version of the idea, without a belt, a wash, or a five-pocket layout to look at instead. If the twist is the reason to own one of these, this is the one that shows it.

The Twisted line is among Lemaire’s longest-running ideas, and this is its least adorned expression.

Materials and construction

100% cotton, made in Morocco. We hold the fibre content for this trouser and not the cloth. One hundred percent cotton describes a denim and a plain weave equally well, and the two behave differently: a denim is heavier, stiffer when new, and it softens and fades with wear, where a plain woven cotton is lighter and more stable from the start. Which of the two this trouser is made from is what we do not know, so the page describes the construction rather than naming a cloth.

Fit notes

The twist is the defining feature and it changes how the leg falls, so this trouser will look different in motion than it does on a hanger. We do not hold measurements, and there is no Lemaire size chart on this site.

Styling

The spiral of the seam is the thing to show, so a plain top and an unbroken leg line. Anything with surface interest above the waist will compete with it.

Care

Wash cotton cool and dry it gently. Where a garment’s shape comes from how its seams are arranged rather than from structure inside it, aggressive washing and hot drying distort it more visibly than they would a conventionally cut trouser, so treat it gently. Our fabric care guide has a section on cotton.

Related pieces

The Five Pocket Twisted Pant, the Twisted Belted Pant, and the Twisted Workwear Pants carry the same construction in a stated denim. Everything we carry from Lemaire is listed together.