Pleats have moved far beyond the realms of a school girl who minds her P’s and Q’s, there are now versions that please the rebel, the tomboy and the sophisticated. Ranging from precise knife pleats for a preppy vibe to petite folds for those with a more ladylike demeanour, S/S ’14 collections had it all. Winter carried the trend on with reversible pleats and translated it using stiffer fabrics, along with designers who have been showing off their origami skills by employing them in details and unforeseen ways. With the pleat magic refusing to die down through its recurrence at the ongoing resort ’15 runways, manufacturers and exporters tell us their newly adopted ways of recreating the trend…
The Spring/Summer ’14 collections witnessed multiple interpretations of the classic pleat technique which paved the way for artistic twists, folds and bends among other optical techniques. Emerging from cinched waists, pleats spread out like a Chinese fan on midi-length dresses, gathered as ruches on taffeta fabric at Bottega Veneta and shown in the creases of heat-compressed pleated fabric at A.F. Vandervorst and Christopher Kane. Dheeraj Pajni, Senior Merchandiser, Kimo Clothing Design Concept Pvt. Ltd. tells us about their choice of fabric, “Instead of pleating the garment, we have used heatset pleated fabric this time in poly-satin, poly-chiffon and georgettes.” Whereas, the boxy pleat – a favoured technique for the season – was laid on A-line basketball shorts, panelled skirts and full-bodied maxi lengths in uneven and sparsely placed folds by the likes of Mary Katrantzou and Alexander Wang. Sanjay Nayyar, President, Indus Gartex Pvt. Ltd. nods to the general trend saying, “Yes, we are using pleats for summer, we are employing a mix of all depending on the type of silhouette from broomstick skirts to long evening dresses in polyester and in shades of fluorescents and monochromes.”
In another avant-garde take on accordion pleating, Proenza Schouler took inspiration from handicrafts used in ’70s interiors which included various treatments of chrome, copper and nickel and rolled out metallic skirts that were set in razor sharp folds, tightly packed around the waistband to accentuate the body form. While the well-received ’70s-sportswear-inspired collection by Michael Kors blended a touch of nylon into silk georgette in order to create a crisp and more long-lasting pleat. Pleats came minimalist and military-inflected at Salvatore Ferragamo and they were cupcake-wrapper shiny at Rochas and intricately embroidered with a rainbow of sequins on stunning ankle-length halter gowns at Givenchy. While designers experimented with foil and metallic fabrics, manufacturers such as Sharad Kapoor, Director, MLK Exports Pvt. Ltd. are focusing more on voiles, cambrics and rayons since pleating these lightweight fabrics add volume without bulk.
Christian Dior brought something new to the pleat puzzle by choosing a new angle and the pleats on his skirts went askew and radiated out from the left hip, curving around the body and ending in a swishing fishtail behind the knees. This complex pleat play included a pair of wrap skorts made of sharp and skinny knife pleats that were pieced with a panel of black silk. Working with knife pleats too, Sucheta V. Merh, Creative Head, Earthy Myths elaborates on her collection, “We are focusing on knife pleats this time which are very fine, instead of the bigger box ones. We use mostly different kinds of linen, cotton, georgette and chiffon which have beautiful prints inspired by art nouveau, colour block and placement printing.”
Mary Katrantzou championed the trend of detailing and stood out by presenting two different fabrics – one loose and pleated and the other, stiff and plain – on the right and left side of the garment, respectively. The clear shift of using pleats on the entire garment to using it on details was agreed upon by many.
Long, flowing knife-pleated dresses in light fabrics dominated A/W ’14 runways in dresses that were universally flattering, timeless and versatile. Many designers like Jill Stuart were clearly referencing the ’70s with sequin embellishments while Rachel Comey’s seemed more modern and relaxed, Salvatore Ferragamo went for the metallic foil approach and Marc by Marc Jacobs presented a full blown puffed up skirt in pleats. On the contrary, Givenchy and Damir Doma, both, opted for stiff leather for their pleats and outerwear was paid a visit by including coats to the trend, with Victoria Beckham attaching chiffon box pleats at the back of a longline coat and Tory Burch fixing hers on the front.
Mary Katrantzou championed the trend of detailing and stood out by presenting two different fabrics – one loose and pleated and the other, stiff and plain – on the right and left side of the garment, respectively. The clear shift of using pleats on the entire garment to using it on details was agreed upon by Pankaj Kumar, CEO, Arvind Kumar & Co. who said, “We are only using pleats for detailing this time, different ways of pleating for different style in silks, chiffons and cottons.” While Sucheta happens to be using her knife pleats on the front placket, under the yoke or the hemline, Dheeraj is employing them in the yoke or band to basically “highlight that area, draw attention to it since this is exactly what the big brands are doing right now.”
Detailing was not the only aspect that emerged from fall, so did the comeback of reversible pleats where two different colours or patterns can be found when the pleat is reversed. Damir Doma, Richard Nicoll, Bottega Veneta and Hervé Léger by Max Azria chose to use shades of white, cream and beige on the inside of their knife and box pleats to bring out their primary shades out in the spotlight. While most of the manufacturers aren’t too familiar with the concept, the ones who are find it interesting enough to send it on for sampling.
The ongoing resort ’15 collections of Fendi and Just Cavalli have confirmed the continuation of this pleat fixation on their dresses and skirts. Whether they have knife, accordion, box or superfine crystal pleats, these precisely folded tops, bottoms and dresses take on a sophistication that goes beyond the pleats on private-school uniforms. Such feminine detailing, with just a trace of metallic and shine is going to be seen more often. Ashish Garg, Owner, A.G. Fashion opines, “I think it will be big this summer because our clients have been asking for pleats so it is going to be there in the market very soon.”
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
