Where to find the best trackpants by local designers
image via @array__store / instagram
words by fashion journal
From couch to club.
Is it really winter if you’re not wearing trackies, Uggs and thermals 90 per cent of the time? As much as we love romanticising the colder months with glamorous coats and fur-lined gloves, when it comes to getting cosy, nothing beats a soft and worn-in pair of trackpants.
Even though Karl Lagerfeld famously declared them “a sign of defeat”, we’d argue that the most stylish people in the world these days know how to rock an elasticated waistband.
Discover more up-and-coming local designers in our Fashion section.
There’s an art to looking comfy but not sloppy. The fabric must be high-quality, the cut must be flattering, and they must be paired with an attitude. If a pair of elevated trackies are on your wish list, here are some local Australian and New Zealand labels making the best ones.
Wynn Hamlyn
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New Zealand designer Wynn Crawshaw has become a firm favourite of the fashion set for his interesting yet elevated approach to design. So there’s no one we’d trust more to design trackpants we’d be happy wearing out of the house. His label Wynn Hamlyn has delivered a number of different shapes to date, this season offering a relaxed, curved silhouette with white piping as a sporty detail. For those ready to fully commit to the aesthetic, he’s crafted a matching jacket to boot.
Karlaidlaw
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Few designers have captured the city’s heart like Karla Laidlaw, and her approach to designing bottoms can take much of the credit. She has a great (and growing) range of elastic-waisted pants made from comfort materials like jersey and stretch velvet that technically fit into the ‘trackpants’ category but offer something more. Right now we’re loving the reversible Jester Pants that have a track of eyelets allowing it to be worn high and snug around the waist, or low slung.
Monphell
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Melbourne label Monphell is known for its genderless approach to design and affection for oversized cuts. Among a series of more tailored styles made from wool and cashmere, the brand offers tracksuit pants for the comfort-seekers among us. At $450 they’re on the more expensive side, but they’re made from a 620gsm french terry cotton sourced from Korea known for its durability.
Henne
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Though an elevated label like Henne might disapprove of us calling them tracksuit pants, a number of styles could easily fit into the category. Founders Nadia Bartel, Michelle Ring and Laura Broque have a strong understanding of what women want to wear, and so have released a series of relaxed-style pants with elastic waists. Perfect to be worn to work or for eating cold pizza hungover on the couch, they really can do it all.
Lucinda Babi
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Arguably our favourite on this list, Lucinda Babi has taken tracksuit pants and made them, well, cute. The label’s Vanilla Track Pants feature double satin stripes that end with hand-sewn bows around the ankle. There’s pin tuck detailing at the front for an even more polished look, with the style made from 100% cotton. The style is made to order, taking roughly one to three weeks to complete, so while you’re waiting for your delivery you can rest assured you’re not contributing to fashion waste as a result of surplus stock.
Briar Will
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It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Briar Will the country’s queen of tracksuit pants, given it’s how she’s put her eponymous label on the map. You can spot Briar’s work from a mile away, as she screen prints her tracksuit pants with life-size imagery of other pant styles – think studded jeans or tartan pants, with plenty of embellishments. Her styles regularly sell out, so if you’re interested, it’s worth moving quickly.
Annie Enoka
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Melbourne-based, Kiwi-born designer Annie Enoka makes the kind of sexy tracksuits you can go out and feel a million bucks in. Just add some wedges or heeled boots to a pair of her brown velour capris or contour flares, and you’re ready to roll out of bed and into the club.
Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp
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Sydney-based designer Niamh Galea of RTTS is well known for her Yummy Mummy (or Yummy Daddy) velour tracksuits in playful colourways and bleached prints. The range is size inclusive and available in cropped and oversized styles, so you’re sure to find one that speaks to you.
Entire Studios
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A brand founded by two Kiwis and loved by the Kardashians, Entire Studios makes perfectly-cut sweats in the dreamiest neutrals (mushroom, beige, ochre, washed black) out of thick, heavyweight cotton guaranteed to keep you toasty.
For more on comfort dressing, try this.
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