Sheer Waffle Drawstring Trousers — White, Size IT 44 / US 8 / L

Maison Margiela has always treated the label as something to withhold, and these trousers carry that logic into the most casual garment in a wardrobe. The only branding is the row of four white stitches at the back, the house's way of marking a piece without naming it. Much of the house's drawstring trouser work is cut in opaque wool, twill or plain cotton; this pair trades that density for transparency, a pull-on pant in waffle-textured cotton blend that is meant to be seen through as much as worn.

In the hand, the cloth is light and open, a raised waffle grid that sits slightly off the skin and lets the leg go semi-sheer from hip to hem. The upper portion is partially lined, so coverage is concentrated where it is needed while the legs stay translucent. The waistband is elasticized, closed with a drawstring finished in silver-tone aglets, and laid flat it measures 15.0 inches across. The leg runs straight, with a 13.0 inch rise and a 35.0 inch inseam, ending in a 10.2 inch opening. The four stitches sit at the back, and the trousers were made in Italy.

Read quickly, it is a summer lounge pant. Read slowly, it is a Margiela argument about exposure: pajama ease and swimwear-cover-up lightness, with the house's anti-logo doing the only talking. It is a hybrid of loungewear and conceptual tailoring, relaxed enough for a beach town, strange enough to unsettle a city street. Size IT 44 / US 8 / L.