You may have noticed Adam Scott’s pants with pleats at the Masters. He stepped out at Augusta with wide-leg wool trousers and knit polos that could have easily been seen on the course in the 1950s. Scott’s apparel sponsor, UNIQLO, calls this style “new classic,” and it will also be seen this week at the PGA Championship.
Scott is scripted to wear pleated pants all four days at the Bethpage Black. He’ll pair the bottoms with a simple golf shirt, designed with a wide spread collar, and a merino crewneck sweater on top.
“That slim, flat-front pant has been a staple on the golf tour for quite a few years, and we really wanted to change the silhouette this year at the Majors,” Scott said. “We definitely drew some inspiration from classic golf wear with a bit more vintage styling, brought the pleats back into the trousers and certainly a much wider silhouette than the skinny jean look.”
Scott admits he had trepidations about the wide-leg pleats being too baggy when he first tried the pants on, but eventually grew more comfortable with the style. Unlike wool pants from the early 1950s, these wool-like polyester blend pants are made with much for stretch and allow for better movement.
Scott said he received a few comments from players at Augusta, and some older golfers admitted they still have some pleats buried in the back of their closets.
“If you look at vintage Tiger Woods playing in very baggy trousers and pleats, that silhouette is similar,” Scott said.
The trend of remixing vintage golf apparel with modern performance qualities has ramped up recently to offer more conservative-yet-performance-ready options. This comes as casual golf wear also gains popularity. Players now have the option to wear everything from button-down shirts to jogger pants, all equipped with athletic technology to manage stretch, support the golf swing and provide comfort.
Scott has always been tuned into the fashion world and says he appreciates the opportunity that the typically uniform-less game of golf has for players to express their personality through fashion. He describes his style as “sophisticated elegance.”
Scott, who has been a UNIQLO ambassador since 2013, teamed with the manufacturer’s Paris R&D Centre, which works on new product development and design, to come up with these unique throwback looks. The team spent time looking back at photos from previous decades of golf, drawing inspiration from the style of players like Ben Hogan, Sam Sneed, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.
“There has been some great style, even going way back to plus fours,” Scott said. “I don’t know if I want to go back to wearing a bow tie and tweed jacket, but certainly going and working on my clothing with the team, looking at inspiration photos of older players, I think there was some great style right there.”
At this point in time the products (pleated and wide trousers and knit polo shirts) are not available for purchase in store or online. They are special prototype products that will likely come later this year or next. For a similar look, try the Kando pants, merino knits or pique polos on uniqlo.com.
