Exploring the Versatility of Pleated Pieces

July 24, 2025

Fashion’s Best Kept Secret

A collage of historical and modern dresses featuring various pleating styles, including a green floral 18th-century gown at the center surrounded by contemporary pleated designs in metallic, orange, gray, and black fabrics.

A visual timeline of dress silhouettes, from 18th-century structured gowns to modern sculptural forms.

Pleating is the epitome of fabric manipulation. By creasing the fabric, elaborate and beautiful designs are able to be created in multiple ways. The first instance of pleating comes from Ancient Egypt. In order to enhance the status of the upper class, the Egyptians would bleach linen which made it brighter, and then they would pleat the cloth making the garments of the upper class stand out. Pleats add volume, movement, and often make simpler garments more interesting. The first famous name for pleats is Watteau pleats, derived from the French painter Antoine Watteau who is responsible for painting women in extravagant gowns with pleats down the back. If a garment is lacking the wow-factor, pleats are sure to totally transform the look in the most impressive way.

There are four main ways to make pleats: stitching, heat-pressing, chemical, and hand-made. Here at NYES, we excel at cardboard pleating and machine pleating (both are forms of heat-pressing)! Stitched pleating can be done in a few different ways, including rúching, topstitched, tuck, gathering, and shirring. Each way adds new volume and texture to a piece of fabric, and depending on how the designer chooses, each style can be easily manipulated for a different outcome. Heat-pressing only lasts on polyester. One form of heat-pressing is cardboard pleating, which uses pre-pleated cardboard molds to shape the fabric. Machine pleating, the second type of heat-pressing, is slightly less flexible than other forms of pleating because it can only complete accordion, side, and sunburst type pleating. Fabrics are run through heated machines that shape the fabric in the desired way. Chemical pleating is used on the fabrics that do not comply with heat-pressing. Sometimes this technique is complicated because the pleating needs to be completed prior to being cut or sewn. Lastly, hand-made pleats are perfect for testing out your creativity and experimenting with different design tactics. This option includes draping, which is very manipulable by the designer’s choice.

A diverse group of models pose confidently in vibrant clothing featuring bold patterns, cutouts, and colorful textures, representing modern Black designers.

A bold tribute to Black creativity and self-expression in contemporary fashion.

Pleating has been seen in high fashion for many years. Because of its versatility, all different articles of clothing are able to be pleated. Whether an entire gown is pleated, like in Altuzarra’s Fall 2019 collection, or just a small section of pleated fabric is peaking through, like in Schiaparelli’s Spring 2023 collection, pleating adds a touch of elegance and specialty to countless outfits. Below are some examples of high fashion pleating on different runways, and some swatches that NYES has made with our pleating abilities!