COMMUNITY CLOTHING X E.TAUTZ FIELD TROUSER
I made my name as a designer at E. Tautz, a London menswear house founded in 1867. It was Churchill’s favourite tailor, and it made sporting and military clothes for half the nobility of Europe. I revived it in 2009 and it garnered critical praise, picking up the odd award along the way.
At E. Tautz, the field trousers were the biggest thing we ever did. Literally. They were huge! Based on 1950s US military field trousers, they were long, wide and used about 60% more fabric than a normal chino. We launched them in 2015. In the first season, we sold a few pairs, which quickly sold out, so the stores bought more, and these sold out too. They bought more, they sold more. And so it went on...
Designers wore them, fashion buyers wore them, photographers and sylists wore them. They were massive in Japan, where cool kids in Tokyo wore them in a dizzying array of styles (Google Images will show you pages of people wearing them). In the US, one celebrated designer liked them so much he put them in his catwalk show. The great Mickey Drexler stocked them at J. Crew, and US GQ wrote a piece titled ‘Patrick Grant Will Make You Believe in Wide Leg Pants Again’. I once met Ralph Lauren while wearing them, and he asked me where I’d got them. They’re the trousers I wear most.
Making quality timeless clothes is our mission, so bringing back the Tautz field trousers seemed like a no-brainer. The Community Clothing version are sewn in the same way, on the very same machines, by the same guys at Cookson & Clegg in Blackburn (who made combat pants for the Army for over half a century), and from the same super tough, heavyweight Brisbane Moss cotton twill.
The only difference between these and the Tautz original is the Community Clothing label inside. And the price. Because of our unique pricing model, these field trouser will be about half the price of the originals.
The photographs were taken by my good friend, Stuart Clapp. He and his pals like a baggy pant. He shot them in and around Leigh-on-Sea and Shoeburyness in Southend, enjoying the Essex coast. The knee scuffs are genuine.
Big thanks to Drew, Bode, Shannon, and Warren, and the L.O.S and Skatey McSkateface skateparks.
Patrick Grant, Founder.
