Pleats as Creations - Savannah College of Art and Design Digital

Pleats as Creations
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Fashion Design Department
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Fashion
at
Savannah College of Art and Design
Afsina Bhimani Mawji
Atlanta, GA
September 2014
Dr. Patricia Trautman, Committee Chair
Mark Hughes, Committee Member
Sarah Collins, Committee Member
Dedication
A special thank you to my parents and my loving husband whose love and support granted me
the ability to follow my dreams and pursue my academic career with their support and care.
Thank you for my beautiful and brilliant friends who have supported and guided me, without
their encouragement, my research would not have been completed. Thank you for always being
there to inspire and motivate me to fulfill my dreams.
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge my committee members Dr. Patricia Trautman, Mark Hughes, and
Sarah Collins. This research could not have been written without the help of my committee
members. I deeply appreciate the excellent suggestions by Professor Dr. Patricia Trautman, my
committee chair, who provided insightful vision and direction to guide my research. Thank you
for spending endless hours to help me organize ideas and share different research strategies to
achieve my goal. Special thanks to Professor Mark Hughes for his creative energy,
encouragement and his knowledge in creative direction to help me start and finish my thesis
collection. To Professor Sarah Collins, who has been supportive and encouraging every step of
the way, thank you.
Table of Contents
Pages
I.
List of Figures
1
II.
Thesis Abstract
3
III.
Introduction
4
IV.
Influence
5
A. Mariano Fortuny
V.
VI.
VII.
What is a “Pleat”
8
11
A. Adaptations of a basic fold
12
B. Purpose of Pleats
15
Folds in Fashion (pleating techniques developed by fashion designers in Haute Couture
and Prêt-à-Porter)
18
A. Jean Patou
19
B. Madame Grès
20
C. Jean Dessès
24
D. Christian Dior
26
“Pleats” Construction techniques
29
A. Clara M. Brown
30
B. Claire Shaeffer
32
C. Textiles
32
i. Woven
33
ii. Knits
34
iii. Synthetic
34
D. Treatments
35
i. Heat-press
1. Chemical methods
35
2. Physical methods
35
3. Issey Miyake
35
E. Traditional and modern pleat making
38
ii. Pattern pleating
39
1. Panel shapes
39
2. Pleating board
39
Conclusion Summary
A. Thesis Collection ‘In Praise of Shadows’
IX.
37
i. Fluting iron
iii. Machine Pleating
VIII.
35
Bibliography
39
40
41
48
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List of Figures
Pages
IV. Influences
Figure 1 – Flying Nike (Victory) Hellenistic Period, 2nd century B.C.
5
Figure 2 – ‘Delphos Dress’
8
Figure 3 – Silks dyed in vivid range of colors
9
V. What is a “Pleat”?
Figure 4 - Vogue archives – 1930
11
Figure 5 - “Pretty Pleats” catalog – (Kent State University Museum)
12
Figure 6 - “Pretty Pleats” catalog – (KSUM)
12
Figure 7 - “Pretty Pleats” catalog – (KSUM)
13
Figure 8 - “Pretty Pleats” catalog – (KSUM)
14
Figure 9 - “Pretty Pleats” catalog – (KSUM)
14
Figure 10 - “Pretty Pleats” catalog – (KSUM)
14
Figure 11 - The Kent State University Museum’s exhibition “Pretty Pleats” highlights
many of the countless variations of pleating
15
Figure 12 – Gold Silk taffeta Dress / Probably American, 1830’s (“Pretty Pleats”)
17
Figure 13 - Pink Silk taffeta evening dress / American, ca. 1846m (“Pretty Pleats”)
17
VI. Folds in Fashion (pleating techniques developed by fashion designers in Haute Couture
and Prêt-à-Porter)
Figure 14 - Vogue archives – 1930
18
Figure 15 - Silhouette sketch / Inspiration of Jean Patou designs (McDowell)
19
Figure 16 - Self Portrait of Madame Grès (Mears)
20
Figure 17 - Madame Grès draping around the mannequin (MoMu)
21
Figure 18 - Madame Paco's workshop (Madame Grès pleating technique (at the Paris
American Academy) (Virtual blogs on Internet, of students traveling to Paris)
22
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Figure 19 - Intricate pleating techniques
23
Figure 20 - Evening dress of 1949, made of bayadere (Mears)
24
Figure 21 - Jean Dessès /1950's (Wilcox)
25
Figure 22 - Christian Dior "Bar Suit" (MET)
26
Figure 23 - "Cherie" dinner dress, spring-summer 1947
28
VII. “Pleats” Construction techniques
Figure 24 – Pattern 1, 2, 3
30
Figure 25 – ‘Pleats Please”
35
Figure 26- Ukrainian Ensemble/Ukrainian, late 19th-early 20th century. Linen, cotton,
lace, and embroidery.
38
Figure 27 - Ukrainian Ensemble/Ukrainian, late 19th-early 20th century. Hemp,
silk embroidery, wool. (“Pretty Pleats”)
38
Figure 28 - Variety pleating irons used during 1860’s and 1870’s.
39
Figure 29 – Thesis Collection Sketchbook
42
Figure 30 – Sketchbook Concepts
44
Figure 31 – Pad Stitching Method
45
Figure 32 – Folding Method on Mannequin
46
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Abstract
Pleats as Creations
Afsina Bhimani Mawji
September 2014
II. Thesis Abstract
The objective of this thesis is to explore the techniques of creating dimensional effects of pleats
and to study the history of pleats in fashion design. A pleat (n) is a fold in cloth or other material,
made by doubling the material upon itself and then pressing or stitching into place. This thesis
will aim to discuss other potential changes and demonstrate many different types of pleats that
are possible in design, and recommend ways of exploring instructive reference for construction
techniques in the field of fashion design. Pleating techniques developed by fashion designers in
Haute Couture and Prêt-à-Porter, such as Jean Patou, Madame Alix Grès, Jean Dessès, Christian
Dior, and Issey Miyake, defined the technical aspect of structure, function, and form, to create a
stylistic element of design. Other influences include different time periods, which shape pleats
into what we use today, including Ancient Greek culture and the aftermath of World War II. The
objective here is to define and explore the method of pleating used in women’s garments and the
different techniques used in woven and knit textiles which have an influence on the aesthetic of
fashion designers from 1920’s to present.
Keywords: pleats, structure, stylistic, techniques, folds, drape, Greek, dress, Prêt-à-Porter.
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III. Introduction
Pleated fabrics, with their elegant appeal, have long been admired for their aesthetic
beauty. Pleating is an art form, inseparable from fashion. Its components are the precious
materials used and the meticulous attention to detail of the artisans who help to produce it.
Pleats1 are sharp-edge pressed folds of fabric, which can be functional or serve simply as a
design element2; they are precisely planned-out creases that have been secured to form a more
rigid structure. Pleating is commonly used in clothing to narrow the circumference by gathering
a wide piece of fabric to a desired design. Pleats have evolved from simple vertical folds into
much more involved masterpieces of structural techniques. Pleating techniques developed by
fashion designers in Haute Couture3 and Prêt-à-Porter4 defined the technical structure, function,
and form, which together create stylistic design characteristics. The objective of this thesis is to
explore the techniques of creating dimensional effects with pleats and to study the historical role
of pleats in fashion design. It will outline many different types of pleats and recommend ways of
exploring instructive reference for construction techniques. The aim is to provide a sophisticated
understanding of the relationship between the use of pleats as structural support and as a stylistic
approach. Pleats used in women’s garments and the different techniques achieved from using
woven5 and knit6 textiles have influenced the aesthetic of fashion designers from 1920’s to
present day.
1
A fold of cloth or drapery held in place along edge by ironing or other pressure, or stitched into place along part or
all of an edge. The word “Plait”, was used in 1920s but later shifted to “Pleats”, has the same exact definition but
spelled differently.
2
The use of colors, space, texture, and other components in an artistic representation.
3
As defined by the Chambre Synicale de La Parisienne, forms that create models that may be sold to private
customers or to other segments of the fashion industry that also acquire the right to reproduce the designs.
(Calasibetta and Tortora 236)
4
French term for ready-to-wear clothes, many haute couture designers produce special, less expensive prêt-à-porter
lines of clothing in addition to their custom-made lines. (Calasibetta and Tortora 376)
5
Any fabric created from the under and over repetitive intertwining of weft (horizontal running) and warp (vertical
running) thread, can be produced by hand or on a loom. (Tortora and Merkel 638)
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IV. Influence
While over time new techniques have been perfected, the first recorded use of pleats was
in Ancient Greece. Clothiers used this element of design to help form their garment as a matter
of function (fit) over style. Ancient Greek Art refers to the Archaic7 (ca.700-480 B.C.E.),
Classical8 (ca. 480-323 B.C.E.), and Hellenistic (ca. 323-146 B.C.E.) periods. The art of Ancient
Greece exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries worldwide,
particularly in the areas of dress. The variety of dress represented in Ancient Greek Art is often
the result of simple manipulations of the three basic
garment types: the chiton (also known as tunic), the
peplos (a tunic which is closely fitted to the body,
fastened at the shoulder), and the himation (a large
rectangular fabric which is wrapped around the
body). These variations have been modified and
transformed into a variety of silhouettes9. Ancient
Greek style of dress remained influential as
inspirations for many present-day designers, as
draping 10 seemed to be an element that remained
constant through time. (Laver) (Tortora, Survey of
Figure 1 – Flying Nike (Victory) Hellenistic
Period, 2nd century B.C.
6
Historic Costume: A History of Western Dress-125)
The act of interlocking yarns into rows of repetitive loops that create chains of stitches. (Tortora and Merkel 309)
The art of this time was highly stylized; it was called ‘geometric art’ and provides little information about dress.
8
A term used to characterize the art, literature, and aesthetic created by the ancient Greeks and Roman at various
times during the flowering of their civilizations.
9
“The outline of general shape of something [as in an article of dress]” (dictionary)
10
“To arrange in flowing lines or folds [method of twisting, cutting, gathering and binding fabric to sculpturally
design a garment]”
7
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Jennifer Park’s: Classical Greek Dress and Contemporary Fashion, informs the reader on
extraordinary examples of Greek Art dress that have inspired designers in the twentieth and
twenty-first century. Twenty-first century garments show the influence of Greek art dress
through softly flowing silhouettes that echo the draping archived through the use of large
geometric shapes in Ancient Greece. Many present-day fashion designers look upon these
historic periods for design inspirations.
Contemporary fashion employs the motifs of draped body-conscious textiles, pleating,
and simple geometric shapes to evoke classical art. These are among the recurring themes in
which Hellenistic11 period continues to reverberate:
“The dress of Greek antiquity possesses the ability to transcend trends because of
it unrivaled awareness of the relationship between cloth and the body. A simple,
modern, and timeless, Hellenistic style provides the template for idealized female
form – the constant muse of fashion.” (Park)
Ptychoseis – Folds + Pleats Drapery from Ancient Greek Dress to Twenty-first-century Fashion,
an exhibition organized by the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation in collaboration with the
Cultural Olympiad and at the Modern Annexe of the Banaki Museum, Athens, was an aesthetic
journey focusing primarily on Ancient Greek dress of the twentieth century. Ancient Greek
artists used pleats as a way of controlling ‘fullness’12 in the direction of drape in garments.
In 1976, Claire B. Shaeffer13 also referenced backed to Ancient Greece to demonstrate
the concept of pleating in Couture Sewing Technique:
11
“In Hellenistic period the main emphasis was on volume rather than line [as in an article of dress]”
“Of a person’s body or part of it [that state of being filled out so as to produce a rounded shaped with fabric]”
13
Claire Shaeffer is a respected author, lecture, college instructor and columnist. She frequently contributes articles
to sewing magazines, and has authored many books.
12
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“Pleating creates an expansive fabric by layering at regular intervals for a
“volume” effect or by creating pressed creases in fabric either randomly or at
regular intervals. The resultant voluminous effect can expand the silhouette of the
design, which is not possible through seaming detail or by any other means14.”
(Shaeffer 234)
The aesthetic of the classical period silhouettes drew attention to the body, as the drapery and
folds were controlled with structured silhouettes. In 1930’s, couturiers were able to transform
their clients into Greek goddesses, with their skill for drapery and the use of fluid fabrics such as
silk jersey and satin, while featuring asymmetrical pleating. White and off-white colors were
popular for this style, but designers also used occasionally black or brighter colors. (Brown and
Smithsonian 276). The stylized renderings of pleats in marble sculptures have provided
inspiration for many fashion designers, such as Jean Patou15, Madame Grès16, Jean Dessès17,
Christian Dior18, and Issey Miyake19. These designers were able to convey basic ideas of
dressmaking20 through the techniques and process of draping.
14
Shaeffer, Claire B. Couture Sewing Techniques. Newton: The Taunton Press, 2007.
Jean Patou (1880-1936) born in France, known for dresses and suits designed in the spirit of sportswear, were
embraced by active women in the 1920s (McDowell).
16
Grès, Alix (1899-1993) born in Paris, and usually known simple as Madame Grès. After giving up her dream to
become a sculptor, she opened her house, Alix, in 1934. She was renowned for delicate dresses with beautiful drapes
of wide silk jersey. She pursued the perfectly molded beauty of ancient Greek sculptures (McDowell).
17
Jean Dessès (1904-1970), fashion designer born in Egypt. His designs reflected the influence of his travels,
specializing in creating draped evening gowns in chiffon.
18
Christian Dior (1905-1957) born in France. He worked as an art dealer, and then trained at Piguet and Lelong. His
1947 work, with it widely flaring skirt and nostalgic silhouette, was a worldwide sensational and quickly accepted as
the “New Look” (McDowell).
19
Issey Miyake (b.1938) born in Japan. Miyake showed his trademark relationship between two-dimensional fabrics
and three-dimensional human body. His famous collection included: ‘A Piece of Cloth’ in 1976, ‘Pleats Please’ in
1988 (McDowell).
20
Dressmaker, a person whose occupation is the making or alteration of women’s dresses, coat, etc. (Tortora and
Keiser, The Fairchild Book: Dictionary of Fashion).
15
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Mariano Fortuny Madrazo (Granada, 1871 – Venice, 1949) was a creator and designer
who researched at length diverse techniques of applied art. Fortuny is best known for his
‘Delphos’ dress and textile designs. Many of his designs were inspired by Ancient Greek
garments, such as the tunic and peplos, became popular among the wealthy. The silk pleated
dresses were extraordinary for their subtle coloring and
for the freedom of movement they allowed, while
hundreds of tiny pleats ran from neck to foot. (MET)
Fortuny’s secret method of pleating, when it first
started in modern dress and leads into the whole
liberation of getting rid of the corset initially in the early
20th century, he is the first who was doing the reform
dress method, where you didn’t need to wear a corset
with it, and it also goes back into 1930s, where designers
like Madame Grès started feeding pleats into the corsets.
Fortuny drew from styles of the past, inspired by the
silhouettes of Greek women, that emphasized the shape
of a women’s body. His dresses are seen as fine works of
art today and many still pleated, in museums and many
individual’s personal collections. (Koda, 55- 80)
Figure 2 - “Delphos Dress”
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The Greek classical garment the chiton inspired the ‘Delphos Dress’, made in Italy. The dress
consists of silk fabric with silk ribbons and silk beads hand-sewn around the garment. The
Victoria and Albert Museum talk in depth about this certain dress:
“The dress consists of narrow widths of pleated silk hand-sewn into a tube.
Fortuny pleats make the fabric elastic so that the simple, flowing gown clings to
the contours of the body. He used Venetian glass beads at the hem and sleeves as
decoration and also to weight the fine silk so that it draped elegantly. All the
gowns were hand-made and adjusted to the body with concealed drawstrings on
the shoulder and bodice. The silk was dyed in a vivid range of colours including
olive green, apricot, pale blue, and black stencilled with gold fleur-de-lis.”
(V&A)
Figure 3 - Silks dyed in vivid range of colors.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History is funded by the
Heilbrunn Foundation, is a invaluable reference, research, and teaching tool, authored by the
Met’s experts, provided a linear outline for Mariano Fortuny ‘Dress’, gifted by Clare Fahnestock
Moorehead, 2001, adds to the growing of knowledge on this important twentieth-century
designer:
“Highly secretive about the processes employed in all his designs, Fortuny left
only one document related to the development of his jewel-tones gowns – a patent
for heated ceramic rollers through which the silk was passed to set the pleats. The
use of the rollers, however, was probably a final stage in the creation of the
dresses. Photographs of his earliest “Delphos” gowns reveal a wavelike
regularity to their pleating rather than the later irregular and disrupted creases
that characterize these examples. It is likely that the panels of silk were stitched
loosely by hand, selvage to selvage – the width of the fabric – with a think basting
thread. When the stitched reached the edge, the needle was reversed about threequarters of an inch above the last line of stitches, and a new row was made. This
process then continued back and firth in a zigzag pattern through the entire
length of fabric. At the end of the panel, the thread was pulled in tightly; creating
a narrow hank of cloth that was then passed through the heated rollers. The
process did not set the pleats permanently. Clients would have to send their
dresses back to Fortuny to have the pleats reset if they were inadvertently
dampened or if they were flattened out a the seat.” (MET)
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V. What is a “Pleat”?
“Pleat (noun): a fold in cloth or other material, made by doubling the material upon itself
and then pressing or stitching it into place.”21 A pleat is a fold of fabric, which folds back upon
itself so the pleat is comprised of three layers. The top fold of the pleat hides the back fold; the
pleat can be spread open to see the back fold. Pleats are not stitched to the garment throughout
their length, although occasionally pleats are partially stitched down at the upper edge to flatten
them and hold in place. In some fabric blends, pleats may be put in permanently with a heatsetting process (C. M. Calasibetta 145). Some pleats often run vertically on the garment, but they
can also run horizontally or diagonally as they are individually stitched to stay in place. For a
different effect, pleats can be pressed or un-pressed throughout their length (Hollen). Pleating is
basic fabric treatment as it serves to create three-dimensional clothing out of two-dimensional
cloth (“Pretty Pleats” KSUM). Imagination and subjectivity come into play in perfecting
innumerable methods, unlimited by the wide variety of fabrics and the diversity of folds.
Figure 4 – Vogue archives - 1930
21
Defined by Sara Hume curator for “Pretty Pleats” exhibition at The Kent State University Museum (June 2013March 2014)
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A. Adaptations of a basic fold
The art of folding fabric and manipulating it to create form, dimension, and shape is an
essential technique in creating and understanding many years of fashion design. Depending on
how a series of creases are arranged as pleats, many other different techniques have been
practiced to achieve the overall beauty and shape of the garment.
Knife pleats are identical pleats superimposed one on top of the other, all pressed in the
same direction. Each pleat has a 3:1 ratio, i.e., three inches of fabric will create one inch of
finished pleat. The width of each pleat can vary depending on the final effect – with narrow
pleats the results of the piece will be more delicate. (C. M. Calasibetta 145-146)
Figure 5 - “Pretty Pleats” catalog – Pleat Glossary
Accordion pleats are a series of narrow and vertical pleats uniformly spaced and
alternating raised and sunken pleats. A flat pattern is required to construct accordion pleats. The
end result is characterized by its zigzag effect. Natural, light fabrics like crepe and gauze drape in
a very flattering fashion with this type of pleat. (C. M. Calasibetta 145-146)
Figure 6 – “Pretty Pleats” catalog – Pleat Glossary
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Sunburst pleats create a triangular shape, where the top part of the fabric is much narrower than
the bottom part. This method initially follows the same concept as accordion pleats; the
difference being that the sunburst pleat is sewn on the bias instead of on the weave. (C. M.
Calasibetta 145-146)
Figure 7 - “Pretty Pleats” catalog – Pleat Glossary
Box pleats are a double pleat, flat fold formed when two pleats face in opposite
directions. Each individual pleat has a fold on both sides and at the bottom of the pleat. Inverted
pleats converge and leave the bottom of the fabric visible. This pleat shares the same concept as
the box pleat, but the difference is that each group of pleats have a seam at the top, sewn on the
back of the fabric, and there is a noticeably bigger distance between them. Fluted pleats are used
to uniformly join a large amount of cloth to a smaller base without making the fabric more
voluminous, involving backstitching the side of each pleat. (C. M. Calasibetta 145-146)
Figure 8 - “Pretty Pleats” catalog – Pleat Glossary
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Cartridge22 pleats allows the fabric to stand out from the seam of a skirt or sleeve. A
large amount of fabric is evenly gathered using two or more lengths of basting stitches. These are
parallel rows of softly small rounded pleats, as the top of each pleat is whipstitched. A tuck is a
fold pulled away from the fabric and sewn along the base. (C. M. Calasibetta 145-146)
Figure 9 - “Pretty Pleats” catalog – Pleat Glossary
Tucks often served a purely decorative function by creating dimensional stripes, but they
could serve to shape the garment. There are various pleats that are pressed and stitched in
assorted ways. They can be stitched across one end, down an edge partially and released, stitched
on the right side or the wrong side.23 By using different pleating techniques, a designer can
achieve different effects. (C. M. Calasibetta 145-146)
Figure 10 - “Pretty Pleats” catalog – Pleat Glossary
22
Cartilage pleat started coming out of the army, when the small pockets were used for bullets. These pleats were
meant for practical reason, but in Haute Couture, the pleats became decorative element in design.
23
‘Pleats School’ – Threads Magazine, Judith Neukam, May 28th, 2010
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B. Purpose of Pleats
The purpose served by the pleats can be purely decorative when they are applied as
trimmings, but they can also serve as an essential means of shaping the garment. The Kent State
University Museum’s exhibition “Pretty Pleats” emphasizes many of the countless variations of
pleating techniques. The Kent State University Museum sought to provide specific examples and
detailed information about different individual garments. Instead focusing chronologically and
geographically, the exhibition focused on how pleats have evolved from dress to dress to change
the aesthetic as merely being a decorative element.
Figure 11 - The Kent State University Museum’s exhibition “Pretty
Pleats” highlights many of the countless variations of pleating
The exhibit featured historical to modern costume that represented the techniques and
advances in pleating; also displayed more than two hundred years of fashion history organized
by type of pleat and technique. A silhouette, predominant shape of the garment that envelops the
figure, is the most defining element of design, because the outer shape is the first element to be
seen from distance (C. M. Calasibetta 180). Sara Hume, curator of “Pretty Pleat” exhibition24,
examines the importance of shaping the silhouette with the use and placement of pleats to control
24
The Kent State University Museum of Fashion in Kent, Ohio
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or release fullness. The hourglass25 silhouettes heavily influenced women’s clothing in the 18th
century, which was largely created through carefully formed pleats. Garments require shaping
methods and techniques, such as darts26, which control the way a garment fits to the body. The
techniques used to shape the silhouette are achieved by understanding accurate position and
amount is needed to the garment. Not all pleats encompass shape into a garment. They often
serve as dart substitute, creating shape and releasing fullness; for example trouser pleats are dart
alternatives. (Brown, Gorham and Keever)
There seems to be very little literature existing on the topic of pattern cutting and fitting
the garment, but there is immense literature on how the dress was constructed layer by layer.
Usually curators of an exhibition have the advantage of examining each layer of the dress, while
studying the sequence27 of construction. The placement of pleats around the neckline, waist and
sleeves demonstrates the pleats’ dual role as a decorative and structural element (KSUM)28.
Women’s clothing in the 18th century was shaped from large rectangles with very little fabric
wasted. Collecting the fullness with fine pleats help shape the garment at the waist and sleeves.
The Gold silk taffeta dress, probably American, 1830s (Figure 10) is pleated from the shoulders
to sleeves at front and back, with fine knife pleats, as released at the elbow creating extra
fullness. The Pink silk taffeta evening dress, American, ca.1846 – silk taffeta (Figure 11),
ensemble was comprised of two construction methods.
The first is one-inch knife pleats around the waist in the front; the second is cartridge
pleats in the back to gather all the excess fabric from the front. While the knife pleats in the front
help flatter the shape of the silhouette around the waist, the cartridge pleats created a dome shape
25
The silhouette that takes the shape of an hourglass, with some fullness at the bust and hip and fit at the waist (C.
M. Calasibetta 183).
26
A dart is a triangular fold stitched to shape the flat fabric to specific curves of the body (Tortora and Keiser 68)
27
Where one unit follows another in a particular order.
28
Kent State University Museum-Fashion
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in the back to add fullness to the silhouette. The silhouette, composed of a domed shape
rectangular skirt, allowed for extensive amounts of textiles to be controlled and released, with the
use of pleats (KSUM).
Figure 12 – Gold Silk taffeta Dress / Probably American, 1830’s
Figure 13 - Pink Silk taffeta evening dress / American, ca. 1846
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VI. Folds in Fashion (pleating techniques developed by fashion designers in Haute Couture
and Prêt-à-Porter)
In the late 1930’s, with the advance of World War II through France, many haute couture
houses were severely damaged. This destruction caused many to close, with the ones remaining
open suffering shortages of materials. This is an important key fashion element, leading to the
slim silhouette with skirt of shorter length
becoming dominant. The simplified and balanced
silhouettes featuring clean design lines, minimum
trimmings and decorations became popular 29 .
Versatility and practicality were now major
influences on the silhouette. Day to day clothing
became simple, featuring dresses with short skirts,
while the textiles were more affordable and
practical for both indoor and outdoor activities
(Brown and Smithsonian 316). Haute Couture
houses started designing sportswear by including
sweaters, pants, and bathing suits for sports in
their boutiques. Pleats became a stylistic detail
and fit design element for women, such as pleats
around the bodice 30 to control shape, full and
Figure 14 - Vogue archives - 1930
29
Regulation L-85, issued by the Was Production Board in 1942, rationed natural fibers and forbade drastic style
changes that might tempt buyers. It limited color choices and restricted the length of skirts and the fullness of pants
and jackets; even cuffs were banned. Manufactures substituted synthetics for some fabrics. (Museum, Victoria and
Albert) (Laver)
30
The upper part of a women’s dress, often close fitting.
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straight pleated skirts, or panels of pleated fabric hanging from side. The key feature was full
skirts, which emphasized circular-cut skirts or pleats on the sides and secured with buttons or
strap. The pleats were arranged horizontally across the hips or down the side. Day dress31 and
separates (as opposed to dresses) became a major focus of designers; distinguished from simple
cut silhouettes with various textiles, such as crepe, wool, cotton, tweed, and jersey.
A. Jean Patou
Jean Patou, French fashion designer, captured the fashion essence of sophisticated,
modern society in the 1920s and 1930s with his designs. Patou’s design aesthetic was influenced
by sportswear, continuing the theme of causal elegance into day and evening ensembles. Patou
never felt that fashion alone should dictate design. His cut of silhouette
is simple, often accentuated with architectural seam lines, embroidery
details, and attention to fabric, trims, and finishing. (Martin)
The 1920’s, Patou’s muse was the modish French tennis player
Suzanne Lenglen, 15 time Wimbledon Champion Suzanne Lenglen,
who wore Patou’s clothes both on and off the court. She caused a
sensation as she fluttered across the grass at Wimbledon in 1921
wearing Patou’s long white sleeveless cardigan and his flyaway white
pleated skirt. At the time, tennis dresses were simple and functional,
with waistlines that dropped to the hip and hemlines ranging from the
knee to above the ankle. Patou became the pioneer of the field of
fashionable sportswear. His customers, most of whom did not play
Figure 15 - Silhouette sketch
/ Inspiration of Jean Patou
designs
31
sports, sought to imitate this new look. Patou recognized the need of
After World War II, one type of daytime outfit, often literally a dress or frock
Mawji 20
clothes for the athlete, the spectator, and for those wishing to appear athletic (Baudot). By
collaborating with textile mills on design and color, Patou was able to create exclusive colors
through thread-dying methods, thus eliminating copying by lower price competitors (McDowell).
Knitwear was the perfect fit for the active and modern women. (Brown and Smithsonian 250)
(Martin)
B. Madame Grès
Another individual with great influences on pleats was Madame Alix Grès (1903-1993).
She invented one model, which she practiced, polished, perfected, and purified: her Grecian
gowns, the draped dress. The book Madame Grès: Sculptural
Fashion celebrates the fashion exhibition of the same name
(which was held at MoMu Fashion Museum, Province of
Antwerp in February 2011) and adds to the growing body of
knowledge on this important twentieth-century designer. Often
reinterpreting classical Greek sculptural forms, and best known
for her classical draping and fine pleats, Madame Grès was
inspired by the body and was dedicated to her work. For
Madame Grès, pleating was a means of fitting the garment
without patterns, shaping, and seaming. According to some
Figure 16 - Self Portrait of Madame
Grès
interviewers who asked about her creativity she replied, “I
never create a dress on the basis on a sketch. I drape the material on a mannequin, then I
thoroughly study its nature, and it is afterwards that I take my scissors (MET).” When she could,
she avoided cutting the fabric, instead relying solely on pleating to form the shaping for the
Mawji 21
silhouettes. Madame Grès did not want to be associated with the adjective ‘haute’ because she
mastered and introduced a natural cut, ignoring the strict couture techniques.
“The expression ‘making haute couture’ will always surprise me: I make
couture… I’m only a good dressmaker. Haute Couture, it’s that for me… to be a
craftsman who has thoroughly learned this trade. You see, work well done gives
birth to imagination: all the manual trades stimulated the mind… Yes, I do
everything myself, I prepare my fabric, I pin it… than I carve, I cut, I sculpt the
fabric…” (MoMu-147)
The process focused on the body as three-dimensional whole, not a fractured vision of
back, front, top, and bottom. As of the 1930’s, the lower part alone of her draped dresses
required an average of 11 to 13 meters of silk jersey, a
luxury that was not available to her during the war. She
eventually added an understructure to her dresses. Corsets
were prevalent in the work of her peers during the 1950s,
and a foundation was required in order to implement the
designs that featured the fine pleating of light fabric, such
as silk jersey (Mears). It effectively moved the eye around
the garment and its folds flattered the human form, similar
to the horizontally pleated bodice in figure 10. As silk
Figure 17 - Madame Grès draping around
the mannequin
jersey was Madame Grès favorite fabric, she also sculpted
with wool, silk taffeta and organza, tweed, chiffon and silk
crepe (Mears 130). As Anne Hollander said, “Mme Grès, used fabric in sculpture way, as if it
were an extension of the mobile flesh, modeling it directly on the body to make a complete
Mawji 22
plastic and tangible composition (MoMu)”. Madame Grès draped fabric in different directions in
order to flatter both the fabric folds and the figure. The cut of the fabric was important to Grès,
because her curiosity was in the movement of the fabric; she used it in greater abundance and
draped it carefully, pleat by pleat.
Madame Paco, a dressmaker who worked closely with Madame Grès, works at the Paris
American Academy, where she conducts mini couture workshops on Madame Grès’s intricate
drape pleating techniques. The workshop consists of creating a pleated leaf pattern, creating
small repetition of folds and pinned down to create the shape. This painstaking technique can
take over 300 hours to complete. According to Madame Paco, she states that Madame Grès had
two different kinds of pleating techniques: sewing along the whole edge of the pleats to hold it
down, while the other technique was to tack down just the edge of the pleat. She also used layers
of faille32 behind the pleated fashion fabric to support the stitches (MET). Madame Paco work
incorporated kraft paper instead of faille. The paper is sandwiched between the silk jersey and
the mannequin, acting as a balance medium to help stitch down the pleats in place. Another
technique was to use a wooden stick, placed right around the bust area to help elevate the silk
jersey away from the body, serving to stitch the pleats together.
32
A soft, light-woven fabric having a ribbed texture and originally made of silk.
Figure 18 - Madame Paco's workshop (Madame Gres pleating technique (at the Paris American Academy)
Mawji 23
In Madame Grès: the sphinx of fashion, author Patricia Mears, provides specific details
into how the garment were constructed. The draped dress exemplifies Madame Grès’s intricate
pleating technique in figure 17. The ensemble included two parts, the bodice, featuring fine
tightly horizontal and vertical pleats wrapping around the figure, and the free falling pleated skirt
supported by the corsage33, later hand stitched together. The initial width of this silk jersey fabric
was 280cm, reduced to 7cm. The pleats were sewn on the back, two by two, secured by pins on a
dressmaker’s mannequin. The finely pleated silk jersey was then sewn on to the corsage and
covered with three thickness of faille cut in the bias to create a base understructure, making it
easier to hand stitch the pleats in place. (Mears 84,102, 149)
Figure 19 – Intricate pleating techniques
An evening dress of 1949, made of bayadere34 silk in figure 18, offers a perfect example
of Madame Gres silhouette structural quality. The spiral sleeves are the main focus. Folding the
two diagonals around the central axis instead of traditional darts created the fullness around the
bust. Replacing the darts with pleats highlights the structural function to create fullness around
the front and back in a manner that exposes a train that varied in length. The sleeve has complex
33
Term used in the 18th and 19th century, for a women’s bodice
Straight or undulating widthwise stripes, usually of brilliant colors, strongly contrasted to give a starling, bizarre
effect.
34
Mawji 24
pleats, tightly around the armhole area to stabilize the structural hold of the sleeve. The fullness
of the sleeve is compressed into tiny fine pleats and released to create volume around the sleeve
head. (Saillard-54)
Figure 20 - Evening dress of 1949, made of bayadere
Madame Gres’s draped and pleated silk jersey flattered the body with the minimalist and
balanced silhouette of the 1930s design, but provided a classical serenity as well. The silhouettes
are unified construction, composed of join fabric panels continuously top to bottom, fullest in the
swirling flutes of the skirt, tucked at the waist, elegantly pinched through the bodice and
surmounted at the neckline, often resulting in three-dimensional twists.
C. Jean Dessès
Jean Dessès was a leading designer in 1940-60’s. Jean Dessès was born in Egypt. Studied
law, but took up fashion design in 1925. In 1937, he opened his own couture salon. In The
Golden Age of Couture, Paris and London 1947-57, published in 2007, and which served as the
catalog to Victoria and Albert Museum’s exhibition “The Golden Age of Couture”, further
Mawji 25
suggests that existence of a resemblance in the nature of Dessès designs. The V&A35 sought to
provide specific examples and detailed information about individual garments. The luxurious
textiles and intricate construction techniques seen in his silhouettes suggest a high level of
quality and craftsmanship. Dessès constructed pleated evening gowns and cocktail dresses,
fabricated in different types of silks, such as chiffon, organza, net, jersey, wool and taffeta
(Martin 209).
The gown in figure 19 resembles a diverse blend of Ancient Greek dress. The pleats run
horizontally and diagonally in asymmetrical pattern across the bodice, as a full pleated skirt is
gathered at the waist. The pleats across the bodice
are discretely stitched in place. There is not much
written on the construction techniques used in
Dessès precise pleating methods, but it is very
similar to the techniques and silhouettes designed
by Madame Gres. Jean Dessès began to use fine
crystal pleating, which created a clear rhythm of
repetition that wrapped around the figure. Dessès
used silk chiffon, which was less dense and
weighty than silk jersey. The hem of the doubleFigure 21 - Jean Desses/1950's
tiered silk chiffon skirts were hand-rolled and whip
stitched. The drape of the silk chiffon moved the eye around the garment as it flattered the
human form. Pleated full skirts were folded in at the sides, swept to the back, or turned and
twisted at the waist or hip to hem. These intricate details were demonstrated by the manipulation
of the grain in one wide piece of cloth. The variation on the silhouettes seem endless, but there
35
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England.
Mawji 26
are several important common factors, such as his silhouettes were complex with twisted drapes
and pleated design details, shapes that seem effortless, and his reference to simple Grecian
drapes (Martin) (Brown and Smithsonian ). Jean Desses didn’t break the boundaries, he wanted
to design for the women and didn’t take the pleating concept a step further and develop it into a
spontaneous idea. His designs were more stylistics then structural, the garments didn’t emphasize
fullness and shaping into the garments.
D. Christian Dior
As World War II came to a close, Europe was rebounding from the great severity of
wartime pressure and depression. Christian Dior’s “New Look” took the trend away from the
slim structured silhouettes of the earlier decades. It reintroduced a soft femininity that was
characterized by form-fitting tops and excessively full skirts (MET-20/23).
Figure 22 - Christian Dior "Bar Suit"
Mawji 27
“He was offering a new aesthetic. Reflecting later, Dior himself would insist upon
the political substance of his innovation, recalling that ‘The New Look”… was a
success only because it reflected the mood of the time – a mood that sought refuge
from the mechanical and impersonal in a return to tradition and enduring
values…” (MET-32)
It began with the ‘Bar’ suit in 1947, a suit that summed up the “New Look”36, which
made Dior a household name. Christian Dior, published in 1996, served as the catalog to The
Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition “Christian Dior”. The ‘Bar’ suit encompasses Dior’s
approach to design in terms of seasonal changes in silhouettes, cut and construction, as well as
the use of opulent fabric embellishment, such as embroidery, that reveal the technical skills of
Dior’s design aesthetic (Figure 20). The ‘Bar Suit’ pleated skirt begins with a circle shape. In
Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 / Making of video, the skirt process begins
with a square panels and each individually pleated in the heat set pleat machine. The next is to
hand-sew the panels together. This process is using far less fabric then in 1860 garments.
Another process was to have multiple circles and pleat them together to create a huge pleated
skirt. With this there isn’t much at the bulk around the waist and the fullness starts around the
hips.
“Cherie” dinner dress, spring-summer 1947 (figure 22), Dior creates volume in the skirt
by using considerable amounts of fabric. The ‘Cherie’ dinner dress sculpts the wearer’s body,
emphasizing the hips by pleating the fabric around the waist. “Cherie” contains over thirteenand-one-half yards of fabric, which is wrapped around the waist in one-inch knife pleats (MET20). Here, the stitches that hold each pleat can actually be seen, creating a design detail.
36
A nostalgic and elegant style, characterized by rounded shoulders, emphasized the bust, a tiny cinched waist, a
pleated skirts, gloves, hate, and high heeled shoes.
Mawji 28
“Cherie” exemplifies “The New Look” in all its salient elements: sloped shoulder,
raised bustline, narrowed waist, and a monumental volume of skirt… Here, the
skirt is made of the full width of the fabric, selvage to selvage, disposed
horizontally. Consequently, as the waist the necessary folding under of the pleated
fullness creates a compressed, thirteen-and-one-half yard seam allowance, the
substantial bulk of which pads the hips”. (MET-14)
Figure 23 - "Cherie" dinner dress, spring-summer 1947
The late 1940’s and 1950’s was a time of enthusiastic interest in Parisian fashion. It was a
period when the moderate priced market was flooded with imitation fashion of Paris. Experts
suggest Christian Dior revived the feminine look, with clothes that were emphasizing the soft
curves of the human body. His designs emphasized the breasts, featured little rounded shoulders
and a nipped-in waist, flaring at the hips into a straight or flowing skirt that dropped to below the
calf length. Dior’s pleated dresses gave life and youth to the form, transforming the wearer into a
Mawji 29
‘flower’, creating volume, emphasizing the neckline, accentuating waist with an overlay, and a
bow or a crossover, for an asymmetrical effect (Laver).
“Dior demonstrated his mastery of pleats in the first collection: it was essential to
be able to move subtly from the controlled use of fabric to the fullness that he
favored in skirts, peplums, and in some cases even at the shoulders. Box pleats,
knife pleats, and a virtuoso repertoire of dressmaking and pleating techniques
allowed in the compressed junctures of fabric to flow in wide release.” (MET-14)
VII. ‘Pleats’ Construction techniques
Pleat making was an art that was maintained by many cultures across Europe. Variations
in the directions and proportion of pleats as well as how they are made, pleated, and stitched can
radically alter the overall silhouette and style of the garment. Pattern and garment cutting date
back to the early 1800’s when science and mathematics joined the field of art (Tortora, Survey of
Historic Costume: A History of Western Dress). The master tailors required a system of pattern
and garment cutting to make garments that were comfortable and functional, with pleasing lines
and proportions. Before the Second World War II, bespoke fashion was mainly the work of
tailors and court dressmaker. There is very little literature existing on the topics and methods of
pattern cutting and fitting. After observing and studying the silhouettes of the garment, it can be
concluded that the direction of the pattern placed on the lengthwise grain or bias position can
alter the drape of the fabric. The placement of the flat pattern on any grain position determines
the direction of the fabric and the fullness and flare of a silhouette (Hollen 117). As
advancements were made in clothing production and development over time, tailors and
designers developed their own methods of construction.
Mawji 30
As mentioned earlier, the placement of the ‘flat pattern’ on the fabric determining the
flow of the drape is a crucial point in the overall aesthetic of the silhouette. A ‘flat pattern’ is a
technique for fitting clothing based on the body dimensions of an individual, of acquiring and
analyzing information about an individual’s style and fit preference so clothing can be produced
for the individual. There are two other methods of pattern making, the first is ‘draping’, an
artistic approach in which cloth is fitted to the curves of a dress form to make a cloth pattern and
second is ‘drafting’, an engineering approach based on a set of body measurements. Accuracy of
the ‘flat pattern’ depends on the accuracy of the measurements (Hollen 120).
The vertical direction of the flat pattern is usually placed on the lengthwise grain of the
fabric. The movement of the fullness or flare of a silhouette depends on the placement of the flat
pattern on fabric from lengthwise grain,
to crosswise or on the bias. For example,
Pattern #1 has the center front placed on
the lengthwise fold. This part of garment
will hang straight and the fullness or flare
Figure 24 - Pattern 1, 2, 3
will hang at the sides of the body as shown
in figure 22. Pattern #2 has the straight lengthwise grain in the center of the garment and the
fullness will hang evenly around the skirt therefore producing a less uneven hemline. Pattern #3
has straight grain at the side seam. Fullness will hang at the center of the skirt and the center
seam, being on the bias, will tend to stretch more than the straight grain seams at the side (Hollen
118).
Another important factor to understand in designing and dressmaking is the geometry of
circle, which comes up often. There are two ways of pleating a circle skirt; first, pleating to waist
Mawji 31
measurement and second, pleating to hip measurements. Pleats made to waist measurements are
usually unpressed pleats, and will spread open at the hipline. Pleating to hip measurement
involves the problem of adjusting the pleats to the smaller circumference of the waistline. The
waistline is longer across the front than the back; hence more reduction must be made in the back
pleats than in the front pleats (Hollen 129).
A. Clara M. Brown
In 1927, Clara M. Brown, Associate Professor of Home Economics at The University of
Minnesota, collaborated with Ethel R. Gorham and Aura I. Keever to write Clothing
Construction, a book on the techniques of sewing garment. The book was organized to serve as a
guide in both high school and college classes to educate on the matters of clothing construction.
Topics included draping, modification of patterns, children’s clothes, and tailoring, all with
detailed illustrations on different sewing techniques, but not many illustrated instructions on
pleats. This book is a summary cataloging popular sewing techniques trends of the 1920’s, while
also presenting the state of techniques used in schools. Brown wrote vast amounts on pleats, but
did not provide detail-illustrated instruction on how to sew pleats. It seems plausible that there
was not a need to instruct in detail about pleats because it was common knowledge. These
sewing techniques were necessary to illustrate how to construct garment details and became a
reference book for designers and for clothiers37 around the 1920’s. Brown opens the chapter
describing pleats as a systematic folding of fabric (Brown 215). There are three buildings blocks
that make up the largest majority of pleats styles: side38, box39, and accordion40 pleats.
37
Tailors and dressmakers
Also known as side pleat: “Period: Late 19th century onwards; similar to an accordion pleat but will all pleats
facing in one direction; the actual pleats could be any width”. Pressed in pleats, usually place ½’’ to 1’’ apart. All
pleats go in same direction. (Calasibetta and Tortora 82)
39
Box Pleats: “Period: Late 19th century onwards. Two parallel folds of fabric turned in on themselves and pressed
flat” (Calasibetta and Tortora 80)
38
Mawji 32
Brown talks and demonstrates in detail about the pleated skirt and the sewing techniques
used to finish the garment but very few examples on pleated garment other than the skirt.
According to Vogue archives and different articles, pleats wear a common trend not only for
skirts, but also for blouses, dresses, and trousers. Pleats offered variations of design details; from
pleats stitched along the edge to make perfectly smooth hips, to pleats beginning at the waist,
stitched halfway down, and then released, to even ankle length pleated skirts paired with a
pleated blouse, featuring tucks around the shoulders and then released around the bust to control
fit. Other design details included pleated jackets and bolero41 featuring a kick pleat or inverted
pleats on the back (Brown, Gorham and Keever 220).
B. Claire B. Shaeffer
Claire Shaeffer, a respected author, professor, and columnist, has authored more than a
dozen books, including “Couture Sewing Techniques” and “Claire Shaeffer’s Fabric Sewing
Guide”. She frequently contributes articles for Threads Magazine, mainly focusing on Haute
Couture garment constructions. Currently resided in Palm Springs, California, Claire Shaffer is
known for her easy-to-follow and innovative sewing techniques.
Shaeffer’s literature consists of information on Paris Haute Couture sewing methods.
When she began school in North Carolina she learned basic construction techniques but she
wanted to focus on detailed construction methods. To do this, she started purchasing and
deconstructing the garments to study their sequence of sewing. She started writing because she
wanted to focus on professional methods and their standards of how garments are made in the
industry at all price points. As her experience on sewing strengthen, she started writing about
materials she knew which was never published. A main factor or theme from all her publications
40
Accordion pleat: “Periods: ca 1889 onwards: a form of close-pleating which enables the garment to expand its
shape on movement. (Calasibetta and Tortora 79)
41
Short tailored jacket [above-the-waist jacket] (Calasibetta and Tortora 40)
Mawji 33
was the issue of fabric quality. The quality of fabric is the key in couture sewing. Shaeffer states,
“Silk is better than polyester, or nylon. It is easier to stitch, sew, and press. The problem with
home sewing is the use of inexpensive fabric; if they start with good quality then the product will
be good” (C. Shaeffer). The characteristic of fabric is important to Claire Shaeffer because it
differentiate the quality of the garment.
C. Textiles
French couturiers were extremely skilled in creating garments with high quality and
innovative textiles. They are skilled in draping fabrics with the use of soft and tailored firmer
textiles. By the early 1950’s, both natural and synthetic fibers were featured in couturiers
collection and fashion magazines. Fabric is a defining influence on a new design. In fact, many
designers do not begin to design until they choose the fabric. Fabric is handled as a threedimensional substance, for example it can be crushed, folded, twisted, stretched, or squeezed in
its manipulation. Pleating effects can be achieved by physically stitching the fabric in specific
patterns, through chemical means, and through heat and pressure
(Tortora and Merkel,
Dictionary of Textiles). The pleating effect depends on the designers’ vision and the fabric
selected. Traditionally fabrics vary from season to season. For fall season, fabrics vary from
heavy wools or leathers, to comfortable cotton to silk organza for spring.
The structural elements of fabric include fiber42, yarn43, construction, and finishes. The
fiber is a significant influence on a fabric’s performance. There are two groups of fibers: natural
and man-made. Natural fibers include those that come from animals or plant sources such as
cotton44, flax (linen)45, ramie46, hemp47, wool48, angora49, camel’s hair50, cashmere51, alpaca52,
42
Fiber is the chemical substance from which fabrics are made. (Tortora and Merkel, Dictionary of Textiles 214)
Yarn is the result of fibers spun together in order to form its structure (Tortora and Merkel, Textiles 641).
Man-made Fibers (Tortora and Merkel, Dictionary of Textiles)
44
A soft white vegetable fiber that comes from the fluffy ball of the cotton plant (139).
43
Mawji 34
and silk53. Man-made or synthetic fibers include rayon54, acetate55, nylon56, polyester57, acrylic58,
spandex59, Fiberglas60, and metallic fibers61 (Baugh). Fine fibers produce softer drape, but fabric
structure is the greatest factor on how it falls on or reacts against skin.
A major factor for designers to consider when selecting a fabric that will add volume to
the design is that natural silk fibers can be manipulated into a more durable pleated fabric. In
most cases, the fabric is pleated first and then cut into pattern pieces to be sewn together.
Lightweight pleated silk fabrics, such as China silk, silk organza, silk georgette, and silk chiffon,
are often selected by designers to produce elegant garments (C. Shaeffer 147). The added pleated
volume allows the silhouette to expand and contract as to flow with the movement of the
individual. The fabric has new character, which is not possible in non-pleated fabric. Fabric is
such a versatile material that can be manipulated and recreated, as being the most important basic
in fashion design.
A knit is another type of fabric structure where needles are used to form a series of
interconnecting loops from one or more yarns to a set of yarns. This process enables the fabric
45
Fiber from the stem of the flax plant (326).
Strong, soft, lustrous fiber, somewhat similar to linen, from the inner bark of the ramie plant (459).
47
A coarse, strong, lustrous fiber from the stem of the hemp plant (269).
48
Animal fiber from fleece of sheep or lambs (633)
49
Fibers or soft fuzzy yarn made from the under hair of the Angora rabbit (19).
50
Fibers from the crossbred Bactrian camel of Asia, which produces soft luxurious yarn (88).
51
Fibers from a fine, soft, downy wool under-growth produced by the cashmere goat, which is raised in the Kashmir
region of India and Pakistan (97).
52
Fibers from a sheep like animal of the camel family, related to the llama. (13).
53
A fiber obtained from the cocoon of the silkworm (518).
Below are Generic fibers extablised by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Manufactured fibers (Tortora and
Merkel, Dictionary of Textiles)
54
Cellulosic fibers regenerated from short cotton fibers or wood chips (462).
55
Fibers that are chemical variants of cellulose and manufactured from cellulose materials, such as wood chips (3).
56
Fiber composed of a log chain of chemicals called polyamides (391)
57
Fibers made from acids and alcohols derived from petroeum (437)
58
Fiber primarily composed of a polymer material called arcylonitrie (5)
59
Fibers, composed largely of segmented polyurethane, which are stretchable and lightweight (533)
60
Fine-spun filaments of glass made into yarn that is woven into textiles (246)
61
Fibers made from metals (355)
46
Mawji 35
to be more flexible, wrinkle-resistant, and stretchy; allowing the fabric to conform to the body
without the need for seams and darts demanded by the woven fabric. Knits facilitate movement
and as a result, provide a sense of freedom (Baugh 280).
A synthetic fabric is thermoplastic, which can be transformed through heat into new
configurations, as the fibers become stable after cooling (Baugh 235). Polyester fibers have
transformed the world of fabric pleating. Due to the methods of heat and pressure, flat and
lightweight polyester fabrics can be transformed into luxurious pleated fabrics, which perform
better over time than natural-fiber pleated fabrics. By using this method, the thermoplastic fiber
retains its soft texture while being transformed into a variety of pleated manipulations. Pleating
can be applied to the fabric, from cut pattern pieces, to a garment that is already sewn. Improved
technological textiles have a significant advance in textiles clothing and impacted their physical
and chemical content. (Baugh 238)
In order to achieve pleats, most designs involve various kinds of treatments for different
fiber characteristics. Generally, treatments applied on fabric can be divided into two main types:
chemical and physical. Both methods can alter the fabric in different aspects, such as durability,
hardness, look, handle, and performance. Pleating effects can be achieved by physically stitching
the fabric in specific patterns or through heat and pressure. Designers can add a heat-set62 pleated
texture to a medium-weight fabric, differentiating the garment by the style of the pleated texture.
This heat-set pleating procedure allows a designer to use inexpensive fabrics and transform them
into signature fabrics. With the introduction of polyester manufactured fibers, pleating fabrics
without chemical or stitching is now possible. In a technique borrowed from embossing, using
heat and pressure, special pleating paper can be used to emboss the pleating pattern on the fabric.
62
Heat setting is a heat treatment by which shape retention, crease resistance, resilience and elasticity are imparted
to the fibers. It also brings changes in strength, stretchiness, softness, and sometimes the color of the material.
Mawji 36
The variety of pleating designs can be quite diverse, depending on the fabric and design of the
pleated image. Polyester fabrics are solely used because the fiber remains soft after being heated.
(Kadolph)
In 1988, Issey Miyake began researching the technique of pleating, experimenting with
various fabrics and processes. Instead of pleating the fabric first as traditionally done, Miyake
first created the garment, and then added the pleats. He also adapted this process to create zigzag
and diagonal pleating that lent an architectural form to his garments. Five years later, Miyake
launched the “Pleats Pleat” Issey Miyake label. The result of his research was an easily wearable,
washable garment made of 100% polyester jersey, a fittingly practical approach to fashion
(Miyake).
Figure 25 - 'Pleats Please '
Mawji 37
Issey Miyake is renowned for innovation in both textile and clothing design. Miyake
established a pleating process by a piece of polyester fabric which is cut and sewn in the shape of
a given garments. The fabric is sandwiched and pleated between layers of paper and fed into a
heat-press machine (Vu 90). The ‘memory’ of the fabric holds the pleats together, and then the
paper is cut open to reveal the finished garment. This technology is called ‘garment pleating’,
and is the foundation for Pleat Please, Issey Miyake 1988 collection. The heat setting method
shapes the fabric by crease resistance, and elasticity that are imparted to the fibers. The stretch
ability, softness, dye ability, and sometimes the color of the materials changes due to the heat.
A synthetic fabric is thermoplastic which can be transformed through heat into new
configuration becoming completely stable after cooling. These changes are connected with the
structural and chemical modifications occurring in the fibers. Miyake reversed Madame Gres
technique, while Madame Gres pleated directly into the mannequin to create a garments, Issey
Miyake is making extra large garments with prints, sewing them, then placing them into large
pleat machine. After they are pleated, the prints would become small expressing a piece of art.
This is how Issey Miyake developed the structural content, while making the techniques
practical. However, it is possible to sew the garment first and then chemically treat the sewn
garments for the pleated effect (Miyake).
E. Traditional and Modern Pleating Making
Pleat making was an art that was maintained by many cultures across Europe. This thesis
focuses primarily on Haute Couture and Prêt-à-Porter, but there are also traditional dresses in
other rural areas that often include very elaborately pleated headdresses, skirts, and sleeves.
These pleats were set into damp, often starched63 cloth that was treated with heat, formed into
63
Starching is a process that can stiffen the fabric due to the presence of the stiffening compounds. The fabric
becomes more difficult to bend and have reduced the ability to drape around the body.
Mawji 38
folds, and left to dry in the desired shape. The Kent State University Museum’s exhibition
“Pretty Pleats” featured Czech and Ukrainian ensembles. In figure 23, the Czech ensemble
features pleated apron, sleeves, and the collar. This method consists of heating and forming stiff
pleats that stand away from the body. In figure 25, the Ukrainian garment, late 19th-early 20th
century, the process differs because the body and sleeves of the full-length skirt can be shaped
into pleats after being dampened, but the inconvenience of this is that they have to be reset each
time the garment is laundered. Traditional methods like these have changed the aesthetics of
pleats; now pleats compose a decorative role in the design characteristic of a silhouette.
Figure 26 – Ukrainian
Figure 27 – Czech Ensemble/Czech, early 20th century. Linen,
Ensemble/Ukrainian,
late 19th-early 20th
cotton, lace and embroidery
century. Hemp, silk embroidery, wool
Hand pleating does not require pleating paper and must be carried out by skilled handpleaters, trained in creating the same result on multiple garments. A variety of devices known as
fluting irons, gauffering irons, or pleating machines were patented in the 1860’s and 1870’s to
create and maintain the complicated trimmings fashionable at the time. Some were operated by
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hand crank, while others used rocking motion. Each of these devises has an element that would
be heated on the stove then inserted to provide heat to set the pleats. These were mainly used to
make pleated trims, but as time went by, more efficient methods of pleating fabric were
developed (KSUM)64.
Figure 28 – Variety pleating irons used during 1860’s and 1870’s.
The methods included table, pattern, and machine pleating. Table pleating is done on a
table with a mold that has been made in specific pleat style. The fabric should be hemmed before
it is pleated, due to the heat and pressure, which can cause shrinkage or shift the grain. Pattern
pleating is pleated in panels. The panel length can vary according to the dimensions of the
pattern. Usually designers use this type of pleating for bias circle skirts, one inch or larger pleats,
and to achieve irregular shapes. This method helps to control the grain line of the fabric. The
advantage is also to manipulate the grain and correct the grain as it sometimes occurs in woven
fabrics. There are two fundamental pleating panel shapes. A panel is defined as a distinct shape
of a flat pattern. Pleating panels can be either semi-circles or squares/rectangles. To create a
sunburst pleat, the fabric needs to be cut into a semi-circle panel. Cutting and using this type of
pleating process requires immense attention since the pleat uses two-grain lines in the fabric:
cross and bias grain. When pleating in rectangle and square panels, the size of the pleats are
64
Kent State University Museum- “Pretty Pleats”
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same along the distance of the pleat; therefore the size of the pleat at the top of the panel is same
at the bottom. For square and rectangular panels, the pleats are pleated along one-grain line as
opposed to the circular panels. (Hollen 120-125). Machine pleats are pleated on a roll of
continuous fabric, as the fabric is inserted between two layers of paper that stabilizes the fabric
and assists in the cutting process. When cutting pleated fabric, each layer needs to be cut at a
time, as opposed to cutting in multiple layers. (Kadolph).
VII. Conclusion Summary
Design process describes the three criteria’s by which a designer can evaluate the success
of a garment – aesthetic design, structural design, and functional design. It elaborates the
designers ‘language65’ in terms of elements and principles of design. From the Ancient Greek
dress to the early twentieth century practitioners; the principal reason for pleats in the mode of
dress66 seems to be providing fullness and ease to a silhouette. This changed in few ways with
the advancement of World War II through Europe by the restrictions of textiles. In the
Regulations L-85 law of pleats in the garments, you could only use so many pleats, because it
wasn’t necessary and they were a decorative element. The simplified silhouette featuring clean
design lines became popular. In every imaginable form and variation, pleats have appeared on
the simplest dresses to the most elaborate silhouette. The influences on the silhouette were
versatile and practical with the meticulous attention to detail provided by pleating techniques.
Influential designers of their time, who used pleats, include Jean Patou, Madame Grès, Jean
Dessès, Christian Dior, and current designers like Issey Miyake. These designers not only
referenced Ancient Greek dress for inspiration, but provided a sophisticated understanding of the
relation between the use of pleats as structural support as well as a stylistic approach. It is not
65
Language in this paper means, a designer aesthetic, his process of thinking and designing.
In this paper dress is defined as any form of body modification that alters the human appearance from the top of
the head to the bottom of the feet when used as an adjective.
66
Mawji 41
only the relation between structural and decorative, but also the balance between the ways a
silhouette contours the body with the use of different textiles. Designers will challenge the
dimensional effects of pleats between the relationship of structural support as well as stylistic
approach.
In recent years, more and more fashion designers have turned to pleating to create a wide
range of handmade and manufactured textiles. To stand out from the traditional construction
methods of pleating, these designers have started developing creative fabric manipulations to
achieve a decorative or a structural element of design. Pushing the boundaries of materials,
pattern and form are given a new beauty, offering a new virtually inspired aesthetic. Pleating is a
methodology that blends traditional techniques with new aesthetics to create unique elements of
design. Imagination and subjectivity come into play in perfecting innumerable methods,
unlimited by the wide variety of fabrics and the diversity of folds. With the aids of advanced
textile technology, it is believed that designers can break the boundary in ‘fashion design’ by
further exploring pleating techniques to create fabric manipulations.
Thesis Collection ‘In Praise of Shadows’
The thesis collection In Praise of Shadows emerged against the backdrop of the subject of
paper folding. A documentary ‘Between the Folds” tell stories of ten fine artists and scientists.
This film shows how closely art and science are intertwined. The medium of paper folding a
simple blank, uncut square – emerges as resounding metaphor for the creative potential for
transformation in all of us (Gould). “As the converge on the unlikely medium of origami, these
artists and scientists reinterpret the world in paper, and bring forth a bold mix of sensibilities
towards art, expressiveness, creativity, and meaning:
Mawji 42
Between the Folds chronicles 10 of their of stories. Featuring interviews with and
insights into the practice of these intrepid paper folders, the film opens with three
of the world’s foremost origami artists: a former sculptor in France… challenged
the physics of a folded square instead; and an artisanal papermaker who folds
impressionistic creations from the very same medium he makes from scratch…
exploring concepts of minimalism, deconstruction, process… the medium of paper
folding – a simple blank, uncut square – emerges as a resounding metaphor for
the creative potential for transformation in all of us.” (Gould)
Figure 29 – Thesis collection Sketchbook
In creating In Praise of Shadow, I set out to design a collection inspired by paper folding
and creating this imagery with 100% wool fabric. As the collection developed I explored themes
of tailoring and pad stitching to control the folds in the fabric. Each garment in the collection is
designed in the perimeters of a basic uncut square. To create garments from an individual
Mawji 43
square, I used tailoring methods, such as heat, pressure and pad stitching to create forms that
contour the body. I intentionally avoided elements of typically origami paper folding.
Extensive research into classic tailoring helped me gain an understanding of fitting
garments, without the use of darts and side seams. The initial step was to pad stitch67 the desired
fold. Generally pad stitching is used for collars and lapels, placing small perpendicular stitch to
the line of stitching making the fabric curve. The pad stitches secure the two layers of fabric
(fashion fabric and wool blend hair canvas) together and gives layers of fabric more firmness. As
I wanted to create firm folds, I started with smaller and denser stitches. These stitches also
helped me gain overall curvature of the 100% wool. Each garment had its personality, I was able
to pleat (fold) directly on the mannequin, creating a garment and a textiles, pushing the
boundaries of paper pattern. Interesting feature is that, the art of folding is spontaneous while its
forming the garment.
67
Tailors pad stitch a jacket’s lapel and undercollar to give them additional firmness, and maintain their curvature.
The line of stitching usually runs parallel to the direction of the most important curve of the layer. For example, pad
stitched in a suits lapel run parallel to the lapel’s roll line; pad stitched in the under the collar of a tailored jacket run
parallel to the collar’s back edge.
Mawji 44
Figure 30 - Sketchbook Concepts
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Figure 31 – Pad Stitching Method
In Praise of Shadow is a collection in which explores the diverse and unique qualities of
shadows. The work is loosely drawn from concepts of scale, process, movement, and perception.
The collection consists of sections that discuss contrast with change, comparisons of light and
darkness, and clarity. The paper folding also inspired many of the silhouettes, patterns and fabric
choices in the collection. This exploration of shadows is shown by contrasting textures, such as
wool, chiffon, silk, and knits. The contrasting illusions depths are created by the very clever use
of shades of grey tones with a pop of yellow and blue, which absorb light and create the
mysterious shadow quality.
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Figure 33 – Folding Method on Mannequin
The collection focuses on techniques, purpose and the associated idea of capturing a
certain condition or movement of a naturally changing object. The garments seek to capture the
traces movement and behaviors patterns. In Figure 32, I started draping wool around the
mannequin and created folds around the area, where usually you need a dart to fit the garment.
Instead of darts and seams, the folds were created around the bust, shoulders and waist of the
silhouette to fit the curves of the body. The collection is based on combination of textiles ability
Mawji 47
to frequently change its form and the possibility of capturing moments, which is the core of this
project.
The three criteria I discussed above are structural and stylistics, and how designers took
these two concepts and brought into their own aesthetic of designing. The designers created
garments, which were appropriate for the time, where as some broke the boundaries and created
art, other designer’s used pleats to shape the silhouette. As the collection developed I wanted to
emphasize the architectural boundaries of the fabric, creating an object that stood away from the
body, being an abstract shape, which is the next level of pleating. In the collection In Praise of
Shadows, I wanted to push the boundaries of materials in pattern and the form, to give it a new
beauty and offer a new virtual inspired aesthetic.
Mawji 48
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