Research Paper on Pleating

Definition of Pleating

Pleating is a fashion design of doubling or folding a cloth by creasing, pressing and iron it into place. When they are sewn on fabric, pleats are called tucks. While there are several varieties of pleats, the most common ones are box, side, French, Fortuny, fluted, draped, curtain, circular, cartridge, and accordion (Wang 2013). Depending on how they are put in place, pleats can be inverted or inserted. They are used to evenly enhance fullness to the shape of the fabric, especially skirts.

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Emergence and Development

Pleating is an art whose history goes all the way back to antiquity. Evidence from clothes discovered in King's Valley in Egypt suggests that pleating was first used in costumes made for pharaohs and queens in the ancient periods (Lemire 2016). The Egyptians made the folds on the royal fabrics by diving them into gum solutions in liquid form, then creasing them using a heavy piece of metal. Pleated cloths for women were long skirts made from light semitransparent material. Some of the clothes made in ancient Egypt are kept in the Louvre Museum in Paris. According to De la Haye, and Mendes (2010), the Lyon Fabrics Museum also has a uniquely pleated coat, similar to the ones found in Egypt, and is said to have been discovered between 2000 -1960 AC.

It was not easy to pleat natural fabric, whether it was made from wool, cotton or silk. It was a complicated and expensive process for the Egyptians and all the rich rulers who had to put on pleated clothes as a symbol of power and prestige. Apart from the rulers, only the church was able to afford pleated garments. For centuries, popes and Cardinals put on pleated silk tunics or muslin for its preciosity and lightness.

Ruffs were very lovely examples of pleats. In the 16th Century, they were considered the most elegant artisanal product. During this time, people would frame and adorn their faces with pleated circular hard collars made with muslins and laces. Sometimes, designers decorated the collars with precious stones and peals. It was given a wavy shape using warm metallic cylinders (Grumbach 2014). The portraits of Elizabeth the First depicts the beauty of the ruffs. Apart from ruffs, pleating was also done to decorate hems of skirts, cuffs, bonnets, shirts and tunics.

The Greeks also made pleated linen tunics during the ancient period. It was known as ionic peplum, and it had two brooches at the shoulders and was worn with a belt. Creating pleats was a tedious process because everything was hand-made; so the pleats disappeared each time the garment was washed (De la Haye and Mendes 2010). The ancient tunics looked like the contemporary couture garments. Pleating has been a constant style in the history of costume. As revolutions came and went, it would vanish for decades before reappearing as a dominant element of fashion.

The ancient pleated fabrics have inspired artists over the years to come up with new varieties of the art. One of the notable pleat designers of recent times is Mariano Fortuny, who created the "fortuny" pleat and patented in 1909 (Welters, Cunningham, Cunningham & Eicher 2005). Fortuny was a Spanish stylist, who made pleated skirts for fashion stars and celebrities such as Peggy Guggenheim, Sarah Bernhardt, Eleonora Duse, and Isadora Duncan. Similarly, Issey Miyake and Madame Gres designed pleated bridal clothes and named them after themselves. Issey Miyake, the Japanese designer, is probably one of the most respected pleat proponents of the recent times (Lemire 2016). He experimented the style with fabric in the 1980s, ending up with a whole collection that is still sold to this day.

More than ever, today, the pleat is a popular style in the fashion world, and international stylists popularly use it to make sophisticated clothes for display in contests in the leading fashion cities like New York, London, Paris, and Milan. Most modern stylists use machines to make pleated ready-to-wear clothes. However, couture garments are still made by hand, and that is why they cost more than other pleated garments.

Pleating in the Fashion World

In the 1990's pleated skirts and tops were among the most precious outfits, especially for youths. Two decades later, pleat design is still trendy, though it less of rage than it once was. Pleated cloths have not lost demand in the market because they come in attractive colour patterns, styles, and variants.

The work of Mariano Fortuny mentioned above has been a great inspiration and intrigue for modern stylists all over the world since the twentieth century. In the same way, the pleat work of Issey Miyake has set great trends in modern day design. The two designers are credited for inventing heat-set pleating. The polyester made in this design did not need to be ironed and was easy to wear. Since then pleats have been easy to maintain.

Over time, accordion patterns, sunray, box, and knife have found a special place in most wardrobes as they became an important part of the Spring Summer collection. Inspired by the 1993 "Pleats Please label" founded by Issey Miyake, pleats had great success in the Spring/Summer fashion of 2016 (Lipovetsky 2017).

According to Steele (2011), recent fashion displays have demonstrated that one can easily achieve a cool tidy look by marching a simple blouse with or an A-line pleated mini skirt and a pair of flat sandals. Alternatively, a micro-pleated trouser goes well with an oversized top. Also, one can simply put on a pleated dress with sandals. Modern designers use a wide variety of pleats and make them even more interesting by combining fabric colours, weaves, and prints. They combine tonal colours to create an easy look, and contrasting colours for a bold, sharp look.

Pleats also have an important role in creating traditional outfits. For example, ethnic designers create an international look by using tonal skills to make nice anarkalis variations based on inverted and box pleats. Various pleats including sunrays, box pleats, and Patiala pleats can be combined well in couture and bridal attire. Interestingly, pleats come with huge body size or volume (Lipovetsky 2017). Since it adds layering a flare to the cloth, pleats are best suited for people with heavier body size. Besides, the design is no longer restricted to women attire as it also gives a great look in men.

Moreover, designers use pleats to add volume to any part of attire because they give texture to the structure. They are good for anybody part because they do not come with excessive visual volume like gathers. It is possible to try different design and size of pleats before landing on the best one. It is the combination of stitch details, tucks, and fabrics that a designer chooses that makes the attire interesting.

While box pleats were only used in making skirts for many years, these days they can be used to make pants both men and women. Adding knife pleats to the sleeves makes the fabric more fluid. Rolled up pleats and inverted box pleats are now popular for their usage on men's trousers, and skirts, as well as palazzo pants (Lipovetsky 2017).

Notably, Lipovetsky (2017) states that contrary to popular belief, pleated garments are not only mean for casual occasions like parties and cocktails. They are versatile and can be used as both formal and informal wear. However, it is important to get the length right. Floor-sweepers don't look good in pleats generally. The best style goes slightly below the knee level.

Whether a pleat is worn as a formal or informal attire depends on how they are infused into the outfit. Also, based on the type of fabric used, the expression of pleats keeps changing (Lipovetsky 2017). For example, when they are used on raw silk, pleats give customized quirky whereas, in chiffon material, they give a soft feminine impression. The easiest and most obvious way to fit a pleated skirt is to go the feminine way of pastels and soft chiffon.

Impact of Pleating on Fashion

Pleats have had an interesting impact on the fashion industry. Because of its elegance, it is common to find pleats being in school uniform. School girls look elegant in pleated knee-level skirts with shirts and sometimes a tie. Inspired by the pleats on school girls, in the year 1998, Britney Spears put on a schoolgirl pleated skirt, which to many was iconic but at the same time gave her impression of an overgrown schoolgirl.

Pleating has been an important part of celebrity wardrobe for decades. One of the outstanding scenes where an artist gained great attention for putting on a pleated attire was in the movie The Seven Year Itch where Marilyn Monroe, in a white pleated dress, stood on a subway grate in New York City in 1954 (Underwood 2009). While the artist was criticized for her exposing appearance, the image made a strong statement about pleats as classy outfits.

Today, pleats are very common in runway appearances, for both pageantry and fashion contests. It is on such occasions that have established the position of pleats as spring attire. Pleats are also used in sport-wear. Pleated skirts have been used for a long time by girls' netball teams, to give a sporty, feminine figure.

Moreover, because of pleating, materials like concertina have gained more value for their movement and fluidity. Economically, as the demand for such material increases, the manufacturers of fabric have gained greater market all over the world (Underwood 2009). The growing popularity of pleats in the fashion industry has also had positive economic effects of other industry stakeholders like designers, cloth-makers and retailers. In each pleat revolution, all the players in these levels of production had a positive economic turnover.

Conclusion

In conclusion, pleating is a simple technique cloth-making but it has significantly impacted the world of fashion through its elegant designs. The use of pleats has changed over the years from being symbol of royalty and prestige in the ancient kingdoms to a casual attire in the 20th century, and now both formal and informal outfit that can be used in all occasions. As pleats vanished and re-emerged in the fashion industry, it impacted clothe choices, and demand as well as the income of the industry players in various ways.

References

De la Haye, A. and Mendes, V., 2010. Fashion Since 1900.

Grumbach, D., 2014. History of International Fashion. Interlink Books.

Lemire, B., 2016. Introduction: Fashion and the Practice of History A Political Legacy. In The Force of Fashion in Politics and Society (pp. 19-36). Routledge.

Lipovetsky, G., 2017. The empire of fashion: Introduction. In Fashion Theory (pp. 25-32). Routledge.

Steele, V., 2011. The Berg Companion to Fashion (http://books. google. com/books? id= Hemsvn9ZbRkC&pg= PA483). Berg Publishers. ISBN 9781847885920. Retrieved, 16, p.483.

Underwood, J., 2009. Fashioning new structures. In 10th Annual Conference for the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI). International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI).

Wang, D.M., 2013. Fabrics re-creation and fashion design. In Advanced Materials Research (Vol. 821, pp. 721-725). Trans Tech Publications.

Welters, L., Cunningham, P., Cunningham, P.A. and Eicher, J.B. eds., 2005. Twentieth-century American fashion (Vol. 6). Berg Publishers.