Men’s cargo pants aren’t making a comeback at Mason's: they never left
Every season, someone writes that men’s cargo pants are back. For Mason's, that premise is wrong from the start: the brand never stopped making them, because cargo pants are not a trend the label followed, but a garment it helped define. In the 1990s and 2000s, while others still treated them as a uniform, Mason's was transforming them into sartorial pants — worn by Sting, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Antonio Banderas, Vasco Rossi and Zucchero. This was not an isolated style exercise: the brand also presented its collections at Pitti Uomo, the event that shaped Italian menswear trends in the 1990s.
A heritage still visible in the names
One detail tells this story better than any claim: the model names. Mason's was founded in 1974 from a precise inspiration, the Colombian military uniforms that Giorgio Martini brought with him as a starting point. It is no coincidence that the men’s collection still refers to South America today — Chile, Bolivia — the same geographical area where it all began. This is a consistency maintained for more than fifty years, not a reference revived for the occasion.
The men’s collection: four fits, one language
Mason's men’s cargo pants cover four distinct fits, from extra slim to relaxed, each built around a model and fabrics designed for that specific silhouette.
Extra slim fit — Chile
The Chile is the men’s cargo style with an extra slim fit and a close-fitting leg, designed for those who want cargo pants as an everyday garment rather than technical clothing. It is available in two fabrics designed for different seasons.
In cotton gabardine, the Chile comes in nine colors — dark grey, taupe, milk, sage green, wine, midnight blue, forest green, brown and seasonal green — the widest color range in the men’s collection. It is the model that best responds to those looking for elegant men’s cargo pants: the compact surface of the gabardine works in more refined settings without losing the functional pockets that define the garment.
In the fine-wale velvet version, the same extra slim fit changes character: the warm hand feel of the velvet makes it one of the most natural choices among the collection’s men’s winter cargo pants. It is available in black, dark grey, milk, sage green, dark olive, midnight blue, camel and brown — a palette designed for the colder months, to pair with chunky sweaters and structured outerwear.
Carrot fit — George Coolpocket and Chile
The George Coolpocket brings cargo pants into a softer fit, the carrot, with a pocket construction that gives the model its name. It is available in cotton gabardine in black, taupe, midnight blue, green and light brown: men’s cargo pants that are less fitted than the Chile, designed for those looking for comfort without losing a neat line.
The Chile in the same carrot fit expands the color choice with black, dark beige, cocoa, navy blue and green: the same cotton gabardine, the same construction, an alternative for those looking for the same fit in a different palette.
Regular fit — Bolivia and Chile
The Bolivia, the model whose name most explicitly recalls the geography of the brand’s origins, offers a regular fit in cotton gabardine in anthracite, taupe and dark olive: the most balanced fit in the collection, neither fitted nor wide.
The Chile interprets the same regular fit in two different fabrics. In wide-wale velvet, available in stucco, taupe, dark green and midnight blue up to size 58, it is among the most structured men’s winter cargo pants in the collection. In stretch diagonal weave, in dark beige, grey, navy blue, dark green and light brown, also up to size 58, it offers the same fit with a lighter hand feel, suitable for transitional seasons too.
Relaxed fit — Square Work, the cargo style from the port of Genoa
The Square Work is the most relaxed fit in the collection, built in stretch cotton bull — a fabric that still carries the name of the city that gave rise to the word jeans. “Bleu de Gênes,” the blue fustian produced in Genoa and exported throughout Europe from the sixteenth century, is one of the most widely accepted historical roots of the term “jeans”: the same type of sturdy fabric, originally intended for sailors and dockworkers, that Mason's now reinterprets in a workwear key in dark beige, grey and dark green.
FAQ: the most searched questions about men’s cargo pants
Why is Mason's considered a reference point for men’s cargo pants?
Because in the 1990s and 2000s, it helped transform cargo pants from military clothing into sartorial pants, presenting them at Pitti Uomo and bringing them into the wardrobes of figures such as Sting, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Antonio Banderas, Vasco Rossi and Zucchero. This is not a recently revived trend: it is a line the brand has produced continuously for decades.
Which Mason's men’s winter cargo pants are best suited to the cold season?
The Chile in velvet, both fine-wale and wide-wale, is the model best suited to winter thanks to the warm hand feel of the fabric. The Bolivia and the Chile in cotton gabardine remain good options for milder temperatures.
Do elegant men’s cargo pants exist, or are they strictly casual?
Yes: the Chile in cotton gabardine is designed precisely for this. It retains the functional cargo pockets, but with a compact surface and a slim fit that work in more refined settings, from an informal office to an evening occasion.
What is the difference between extra slim, carrot, regular and relaxed fits in Mason's men’s cargo pants?
Extra slim (Chile) fits closely along the entire leg; carrot (George Coolpocket, Chile) is roomier through the thigh and hips; regular (Bolivia, Chile) is the most balanced fit; relaxed (Square Work) offers maximum freedom of movement in a workwear interpretation.
