Pleats are a ubiquitous element in fashion, appearing in everything from cocoon-like designs by Issey Miyake to traditional preppy school uniforms.
Sofia Vergara wore a custom red, micro-pleated Dolce & Gabbana gown on the 2024 Emmys red carpet.
While fashion has followed its usual unpredictable course over the last decade, pleats have remained a constant: recall Pieter Mulier's hit spring 2025 collection for AlaIa, presented at New York's Guggenheim Museum, which paid homage to the late Azzedine AlaIa's fondness for pleating? Or the baby blue pleated Prada gown Lupita Nyong'o wore to the 2014 Academy Awards, which solidified her position on many a best-dressed list?
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What inspired French couturier Madame Grès' signature Hellenic draped gowns made in mid-century Paris, which continue to influence countless designers, including Alaïa and Mulier, to this day?
Big picture, decades are just a fleeting moment in time; in a sense, humans have almost never stopped wearing pleats. According to New York-based fashion historian Ruby Redstone, pleated fabrics have been in use since Ancient Greece, when togas were the epitome of style.
According to Redstone, earlier research showed that people once believed the Greeks were merely manipulating fabric and pinning pleats in place, but studies conducted from the 50s to the 70s actually found that they used an egg white paste to secure the folded fabric.
"They would use the paste to create the organic-looking rippling pleats that would fall to the ground, but these fabrics would dry very stiff. The stiff togas we see in marble sculptures are actually probably more representative of what the dresses looked like," she explains.
When the ancient Romans and Celts gained power, pleats were no longer just a fashion statement: they became a standard feature in military and later school uniforms, such as Roman tunics and kilts, allowing for flexible movement of the legs.
Fast-forward to the late 18th and early 19th century in England, a time heavily influenced by Greek aesthetics, and women's clothing featured light, airy fabrics and delicate, feminine shapes.
Take Lognon, a prestigious 172-year-old pleating company that was acquired by Chanel in 2014 and now operates under the umbrella of Chanel's ateliers du 19M, which specializes in artisanal craftsmanship.
This is the technique's dual nature: Lognon's hand-pleated organzas and silks are paired with practical, rugged school uniforms, which, in comparison to our Regency-inspired gowns, have a more enigmatic origin.
According to Redstone, one theory suggests that just as international trade with Japan expanded during the 20th century, royal families such as those from Russia and Britain had a preference for nautical-themed clothing, which was eagerly adopted in Japan before influencing countless uniforms around the world.
There is another theory that associates a prominent American Catholic school system with a Scottish kilt manufacturer, suggesting that it was financially advantageous for the institution to require students to wear kilts as part of their uniform.
For women's clothing and high-end fashion, the ease of movement and functionality provided by pleats have had a significant - and largely unrecognized - impact.
"The innovation of pleating was that it allowed women to wear the garment without the need for a corset," states Mickey Riad, creative director and co-owner of the Venetian label and textile house Fortuny. The company's popularity in the 20th century can be attributed to founder Mariano Fortuny's iconic pleated silk Delphos evening gowns, which drew inspiration from ancient designs and incorporated luxurious, handcrafted elements such as Murano glass beads.
Riad views his current role as safeguarding the house's renowned pleating techniques, which were unexpectedly developed in collaboration with Fortuny's partner and later wife, Henriette, in the early 1900s.
"The Delphos gown was quite daring: a lovely pleated silk dress that was quite a departure from the usual layered and uncomfortable clothing women wore at the time. Because of the way the pleats were designed, it was very accommodating in terms of sizing: it could fit a variety of figures and hugged the body in a flattering way," Riad, who is currently reviving the technique, explains.
To preserve their delicate folds, the original Delphos gowns and other pleated items were coiled into compact balls, making them convenient to transport and store.
"It's not long before, every influential person had to have a Fortuny dress," Riad says. In fact, the house's evening gowns were seen on Italy's most renowned public figures of the time, including socialite Marchesa Casati and renowned actress Eleonora Duse; more recently, in the 1970s and 1980s, they were worn by New York icon and Fortuny collector Tina Chow; and later by supermodel Natalia Vodianova, who wore a blossom-pink gown at the 2009 Met Gala and a sky-blue number at the year's British Fashion Awards.
In 1988, renowned designer Issey Miyake conceived a novel idea after fiddling with lightweight, fast-drying materials, and being inspired by a pleated polyester silk scarf. He and his team invested years in testing synthetic materials and addressing issues such as polyester's propensity to produce static electricity. Working in collaboration with Japanese textile company Toray, they eventually succeeded and introduced Pleats Please Issey Miyake in 1993, giving birth to an iconic line which is still sought after by fashion enthusiasts and emulated today.
The process of pleating is reversed for Pleats Please garments, which are cut and sewn first, then pleated. This involves placing the fabric between a paper insert and using heated rollers to set the folds.
Because of the heat treatment system we've developed, the product we create is not only functional, but also long-lasting," a Miyake spokesperson says. "As a result, our pleated pieces can be washed at home, are easy to store and retain their original shape, even after being rolled up and packed in a suitcase.
While style and comfort along with practicality remain key attractions for luxury brands like Fortuny and Pleats Please, younger designers are also successfully capitalizing on this technique.
Meet Robert Wun, the Hong Kong-born fashion designer whose elaborate and detailed designs have made him a prominent figure in the industry. Those familiar with Wun's work will recognize his distinctive pleated details, which have been a consistent element across his collections, adding drama and texture to dresses, coats, and pants.
"For me, pleating is more than just a technique," says Wun, who heavily emphasized pleats in his spring 2023 collection - which featured a pleat he calls the "sunray pleat" - and the autumn 2021 collection, which was inspired by his grandmother and centered around her favorite birds, swallows. Pleats played a crucial role in achieving the symmetry and natural mechanical look of a bird's wing.
I adore using pleats to recreate the enchanting symmetry found in nature," Wun says, holding up palm leaves. "The way a leaf unfurls with these intricate lines is both magical and organic, evoking the image of a sunbeam spreading across the mountains. However, pleating adds a touch of structure and constraint to a simple fabric drape.
The designer credits Miyake with taking pleated pieces and technical fabrics to new fashionable heights by elevating casual sweatpants.
It's something that can be approached in a relaxed manner, but it doesn't appear to be effortless. The folds begin to tell a different story on your body.
Even as he continues to discover new stories and sources of inspiration, Wun says that pleating has become a fundamental aspect of his design process. "There are things that we will always retain as part of our core identity, and pleating is a fundamental element for us."
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