Plissé Please

Pleats date back to ancient times, when Egyptians pleated their garments by pouring eggs over linen and drying the fabric in the sun after using a wooden instrument with narrow grooves to create the pattern.

Later, in the beginning of the 19th century, Spaniard Mariano Fortuny made pleats de rigueur again, as did Japanese designer Issey Miyake in the early 90's, with his Pleats Please collection of pleated polyester jersey garments.

At last month's Première Vision, pleats were everywhere for Fall 2017: on velvet, on menswear fabrics and in bold prints, to name a few. There were also featured on one of my favorite fabrics, lace.

Pictured above are two fine examples from French lace mill Darquer and Swiss mill Jakob Schlaepfer.

Darquer combined a rigid and stretch yarn to create the airy, pleat-like effect seen above. 

"The yarns react differently when combined and give this very special cloqué look. It is a unique look which is very different from the usual aspect we know for lace," said Francois Heumel, the mill's commercial export manager, adding that the house of Chanel has already used the lace twice.

At Jakob Sclaepfer, foiled appliqués have been used at the mill for some time, according to creative director of fashion textiles Rahel Flury, but what's really new, she said, was "pleating these fabrics after the appliqué is applied."

"The dimension it creates is quite nice," she added, "and we loved the sporty feel of dots and eclipses."

Suffice to say, the Egyptians and Fortuny would have been proud. And Issey Miyake would be thrilled to see these examples.

Who doesn't love a good pleat ❤️