Massimo Alba Ionio2 Trouser – Ferro

Put the same pattern into linen and you get a different trouser. Linen is heavier at the hem and has almost no elasticity, so it falls straight from the pleat rather than holding a shape around the leg, and the whole trouser reads longer and looser on the body even though the cut has not changed. The single pleat matters more here than in cotton, because linen has no give at all and the pleat is the only thing giving the front of the trouser somewhere to go when you sit down.

Ferro is iron, and it is one of the better colours this house makes: a grey with enough warmth that it does not go cold against brown and enough depth that it does not read as summer beige. In lightweight linen it will crease across the lap and behind the knee within an hour of wearing, which is not a defect and cannot be prevented. A linen trouser that has not creased is a linen trouser nobody has worn.

We selected the Ionio2 once and bought it in two cloths, because the cut is right and the cut is what is hard to find. The linen is the one that gets worn from May to September and the one we reach for ourselves.

One hundred percent linen, lightweight, made in Italy. Single pleat, regular fit. Colour: Ferro.

Regular fit, reading looser than the cotton version because of the way linen falls. Linen has no recovery, so it will relax across a day at the knee and the seat and return with washing. Take the size that lets you sit comfortably rather than the one that looks best standing still, because linen will not stretch to meet you.

With the Genova in Bianco or the Kos collarless, untucked. Under the Florida cotton shirt jacket. With the Bowles button-up in white, which is the cleanest of the three.

Wash cool and hang to dry. Linen softens with every wash, so washing it often is doing it a favour. Press damp if you want it sharp, and accept that it will not stay that way. Our general care guidance covers the rest.

The Ionio2 Trouser in Caffe is the cotton version. The Lois Trousers are the linen equivalent cut for women, the Kevin Shorts are the linen shorts, and the Kos Collarless Pop-Over is the linen and cotton shirt. There is more on the house on the Massimo Alba designer page. Everything we carry from Massimo Alba is listed together.