Wide boys — why pleated trousers are back

It’s something of a cliché to say that the pendulum swing of fashion can be charted by the rise and fall of hemlines. As with most clichés, there’s an element of truth in that. But what’s the equivalent for men? It exists, of course, but is harder to spot — especially as the swing in menswear is so much slower.
So let’s look at trousers. For years now the standard style of men’s trousers has been slim, with a flat front. From jeans to chinos, tailored separates and the bottom half of a suit, this has held true. There have been variations of course — the advent of the skinny-leg look, jeans very much included, and the trend for slightly short lengths, popularised by the American designer Thom Browne.
But broadly speaking, the flat-front, gently tapered slim trouser has been the king of the wardrobe. The rise of street/sportswear has even seen this silhouette applied to a new breed of drawstring trousers designed not for the gym, but for daywear — some even coming as a part of a suit.
This state of affairs has existed for so long that we’ve stopped thinking about it. But rewind some 40 years to the 1980s and we find wider strides and, whisper it, pleated ones.
The Masters of the Universe, as Tom Wolfe dubbed Wall Street big dogs in 1987’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, wore suits that emphasised a type of super-masculine physique — wide shoulders and wide lapels on double-breasted jackets, and wide trousers to match. These might well have come with one or more pleats. Meanwhile in the nightclubs the New Romantics wore high-waisted pleated trousers, including “pegs” that tapered to the ankle, a nod to the Jazz Age zoot suit and a homage to that prototype New Romantic, David Bowie, whose penchant for pleats can be seen in his 1975 Young Americans and 1983 Let’s Dance incarnations.
So, back to the pendulum: the 1980s widening can be seen as a response to the skinny drainpipes of punk and new wave, which were in turn a style rebuke to flares. And so it goes on. Except it didn’t really. In the 1990s Dolce & Gabbana served up narrow Sicilian trews and, a decade or so later, Hedi Slimane put the nail in the coffin of wider trousers at Dior, heralding nearly 20 years of slim and straight-fit no-pleat fits for men.
But the tide is turning. Slowly, over the past few years, like a child testing its boundaries, designers have been experimenting with trouser widths and pleats. Piero Braga, the chief executive of Slowear, which owns the 1951-founded Venetian trouser specialists Incotex, explains: “In a world dominated by slim-fit trousers, pleated trousers are back. They add elegance, comfort and gently relax the silhouette, a look that is more distinguished than the simple slim fit.” Incotex’s regular-fit Chino Icecrêpe cotton trousers in blue or white have an easy cut, Gurkha-style fastening (lengthened waistband), coin pocket and waist adjuster with buckle … and a double pleat. They are a good, relaxed summer staple that works equally well with T-shirts, knits or shirts.
Fellow Italians Corneliani (two-pleat wool and linen), Zegna (oversized Oasi Lino trousers), Canali (one-pleat relaxed-fit chinos in cinnamon garment-dyed cotton grosgrain) and Brunello Cucinelli (linen chalk-stripe leisure fit with double pleats) are all on board with the new trouser mode.
Giorgio Armani too is offering the pleated trouser look that made him famous in the 1980s: check out the midnight blue silk-blend twill pair with two pleats and the pinstriped single-pleat cupro and silk style, both of which are very Armani. Even Dolce & Gabbana, champions of the slim-fit look back in the day, have stretch wool twill trousers with a wide leg.
Meanwhile, on these shores you’ll find pleated styles at Burberry (striped wool relaxed fit with elasticated waist and pleat design), Paul Smith (navy wool-mohair double-pleat trousers with cinch adjustable straps on the waistband) and Connolly (corduroy relaxed fit with one pleat in natural, navy and light blue).
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The British designer Oliver Spencer is also an advocate of the new wider form. “We’re fans of a pleat here,” he says. “They give more comfort and room to move. In fact, I’ve been cutting my trousers wider for a couple of years now. In the summer, wide linen trousers are great basics to match with T-shirts and cotton knits. Our pleats are the ‘English’ style and face inwards, while you can also go ‘Italian’ where they face outwards. There’s not a great deal of difference, it’s just personal preference, but the choice of a pleat is a statement. It means you’re open to a return of dandyish, sporty elegance.” And the reason for the comeback? “Remember, wide trousers were a thing back in the 1920s and 1930s when sporty style first crossed over into menswear,” Spencer adds. “We’re at a similar moment now, when more relaxed sportswear has influenced tailoring.” Check out Spencer’s Morton one-pleat trousers, which come in a number of fabrics, including cotton corduroy and Burnham denim.
At Dunhill, the creative director Simon Holloway is also on a mission to dress men more elegantly, and the double-pleated Gurkha style of trousers is part of his arsenal. Like many of the new, fuller trouser styles it offers a higher waist and pleats. And being a Gurkha, it also features the wraparound waistband fastening that gives it a distinctive look. “For about two decades we’ve had the skinny silhouette that’s only become more and more extreme. I think it reached its nadir with the ‘jegging’,” Holloway says. “We developed a refined Gurkha pant that we used throughout this season in everything from wool cashmere flannel to cotton cashmere corduroy. The Gurkha pant originally comes from a military inspiration. I like the precision of the defined waist and how the pleated silhouette hangs from that very precise waist, which is really flattering.”
Is it time for you to join the wide boys?
slowear.com; corneliani.com; zegna.com; gb.canali.com; shop.brunellocucinelli.com; armani.com; dolcegabbana.com; uk.burberry.com; paulsmith.com; connollyengalnd.com; oliverspencer.co.uk; dunhill.com