Old Money Aesthetic Wardrobe∥ Silk Plissé Dresses Compared Across 4 Brands — From Ancient Greek Chiton to 20th Century Delphos

When I wrote the Agnona brand story at the beginning of the year, I fell in love with their plissé technique used in mulberry silk and cashmere/cotton blend cardigans and skirts. I found them very distinctive and textured. Recently, I saw that Gabriela Hearst also uses this technique. I feel that the Plissé technique is a test of a brand's standard, especially since it has to be silk fabric. Therefore, I'm dedicating this article to this technique and style, including its corresponding fashion history, quality brands, and the difference between it and Pleat folds.

This current season is just right for wearing lightweight knitwear made of mulberry silk + cashmere blends.

High-quality Plissé is always made of 100% silk fabric (as shown in the picture below). Some, like Agnona, will also blend it with cotton or cashmere.

However, some commercialized brands will use entirely synthetic fibers like viscose or polyester to reduce costs—naming Issey Miyake, which is uniformly polyester (among the older generation of brands still around, they were the earliest to do pleats; when speaking of pleats, one generally thinks of this brand, as they have the most extensive range). So, you need to check the fabric composition label carefully.

Every time we go to a store, the first step after touching any garment we're interested in is to look at the fabric composition label. The label tells the real story; even fabric experts cannot distinguish some fabric differences by touch alone.

Because Issey Miyake started in the 1970s and is a capitalized design brand that has been recorded in fashion history, its application of pleats extends beyond dresses and cardigans to bags, shoes, and accessories. Therefore, this brand can serve as inspiration for colors, prints, and designs.

I plan to release this "Old Money Texture Clothes" guide as a series, compiling high-quality clothes I've seen that are both beautiful and have good fabric, serving as aesthetic and inspirational references. After all, spring and summer clothes really test design, whereas autumn and winter cashmere coats and sweaters tend to stick to just a few recurring styles.

01

Before specifically introducing the history and silk Plissé items from each brand, let's strictly differentiate between Plissé and Pleat:

Plissé refers to the kind of particularly fine, soft, and dense crinkles shown in the two pictures of Agnona and Issey Miyake above. The overall effect is lighter and more ethereal. The fabrics chosen are silk (especially Georgette silk) and polyester (I don't even want to mention polyester; I absolutely loathe synthetic fibers) – those that can create a lightweight effect. The shapes are irregular.

Pleats are wider, more three-dimensional, and have more structure. They can be applied to a wide range of fabrics, from cotton and wool to synthetic fibers. For example, the Kiton trousers I bought previously often feature a Pleat to add a sense of formality.

The representative trouser styles for men and women from Gabriela Hearst, which I will discuss in the next article, also feature Pleats. However, Gabriela Hearst also has Plissé knits, as she places great importance on cashmere knitwear (I will write a dedicated piece on this later). Like The Row, Gabriela Hearst is very strong across all categories. The two detail images below of Plissé and Pleat are from the Gabriela Hearst official website; searching for "Plisse" and "Pleat" will bring them up, making comparison easy.

Plissé is more like fine, natural, irregular crinkles that are close together. Pleat, on the other hand, has strong, geometric straight lines and are further apart.

From left to right: The Row 2011, Akris, Khaite 2024SS, The Row 2018. In these 5 skirts, the 4 on the left are all Pleat, characterized by very distinct, regular, straight lines, like knife-cut window blinds. The one on the far right features directly cut folds, which is a special style.

You can see that many The Row Dress styles are listed here. The brand started early and produced a lot. However, because they have too many categories to manage, many beautiful designs gradually disappeared. These attractive designs were instead adopted by other brands as their own signature features.

The Row 2014, The Row 2020SS, Gabriela Hearst 2025SS, The Row 2018

The 3 on the left are all Plissé: irregular spacing, irregular lines, varying in thickness, formed by the natural stacking of folds like the example on the far right, rather than being like the knife-cut Pleats mentioned above (which can even be used for bags).

As for Khaite, which I mentioned earlier, their style is both girly and very avant-garde and edgy, with a strong sense of silhouette in their clothes. Therefore, Khaite's folds are the "Pleated" type, which has a stronger three-dimensional feel.

The pleated skirt below is described as "merino wool for precise knife pleats." Khaite's sharp, cool-girl style is very prominent.

The Pleat on trousers is also described as "deep sharp angled pleats."

The most common applications for Pleats are on trousers and pleated skirts.

Some uncommon wide-spaced, three-dimensional folds are all considered Pleat.

From the product naming below, you can see that many people confuse Plissé and Pleat. This Akris item and this Tom Ford item, with their clear geometric sense, three-dimensionality, and wider spacing, are nevertheless labeled Plissé.

02

After distinguishing between Pleat and Plissé, let's delve into the history of Plissé and Pleats. Pleat primarily originates from the Chiton garment of ancient Greece, while Plissé was first conceived in the early 20th century by the Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, who, inspired by the Chiton, designed the famous Delphos gown.

The Chiton was a white linen robe commonly worn by men and women in ancient Greece. It was made from a rectangular piece of cloth, either sewn or fastened with pins at the shoulders, and cinched with a belt, draping around the body to create naturally flowing folds, embodying a classical aesthetic style.

The goddesses of the 5th century BC Erechtheion temple on the Acropolis in Athens are all depicted wearing this type of fabric with natural, irregular folds. This is the earliest inspiration for Plissé and Pleat, as mentioned earlier.

The fabric draped over the shoulders, forming encircling folds across the chest, and the vertical Pleat folds on the lower body—I believe this influenced Khaite's design inspiration for their 2021 and 2022 FW collections.

And the slanted, asymmetrical neckline shown below influenced this dress and skirt from Gabriela Hearst's 2023FW and 2024 Resort collections, which are still available for purchase on the official website now.

A belted dress with naturally layered folds on both the upper and lower body is a core element of the Grecian style.

No wonder these Gabriela Hearst outfits evoke a Grecian goddess style! Whether it's a dress or a two-piece set, they all feature belts and retain natural folds on the upper and lower body—these are Grecian elements. It's just that modern Pleats are too linear, lacking the relaxed, natural feel of the Chiton.

Strictly speaking, these garments inspired by the Chiton are all called Pleats. Plissé, on the other hand, is more akin to the Delphos pleated gown designed by Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo in the early 20th century. This gown employed a hand-pleating technique that allowed the silk fabric to conform to the body's curves, showcasing a fluid beauty of lines.

In these two images, the background fabric and architecture are deliberately styled to evoke the feeling of irregular Plissé folds.

Plissé-style architectural walls also possess a strong artistic quality. The picture is from the Italian architectural stone brand Salvatori. They have specifically registered a product patent for this type of pleated wall, naming it Silk Georgette®. Italians truly understand art best!

Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo was initially a Venetian theater stage set designer. Later, Fortuny, together with his seamstress wife Henriette Negrin, created the Delphos Dress.

Besides solid-colored fabrics, Fortuny also produced a variety of printed patterns. This explains why both Agnona and Issey Miyake Plissé fabrics have dedicated printed plissé pattern styles.

The pleating process involves techniques such as heat setting and pressure, and to this day, it has not been fully replicated (no wonder most Plissé items currently available are tops and trousers, with dresses being rare). This reflects the uniqueness and artistic value of the technique, elevating the garments to the level of collector's items. More Delphos gowns can be seen at the Fortuny Museum in Venice.

The Fortuny official website still sells his designed printed patterns.

03

Because Pleats can be made from such a wide range of fabrics and many brands are producing them in numerous styles, I'm also including information on the styles and history of Pleats here for inspiration and to facilitate comparison with Plissé. Since Plissé is primarily made from mulberry silk, I lean more towards Plissé. Below, I will introduce quality brands that offer mulberry silk Plissé.

Gabriela Hearst

Gabriela Hearst's Plissé is available in beige, blue, and red. The styles are limited to a half-sleeve top, flared trousers, and a tank dress. Plissé is also a new fabric and technique for the brand, introduced only in the last two years, so the product range is not extensive.

This Bordeaux red is the most beautiful—a deep, rich, yet understated red. The natural, irregular, fine crinkles are attractive both up close and from a distance.

I will write dedicated posts later on Gabriela Hearst's flared trousers and dresses. Both categories are very distinctive, stylish yet restrained and proper, and of very high quality. All items are made from natural fabrics, and all are Made in Italy.

Agnona

Agnona, as a cashmere brand, primarily features Plissé made from a cashmere and mulberry silk blend. It is positioned as high-end, though slightly below Gabriela Hearst. Consequently, some styles use viscose, so it's still necessary to check Agnona's fabric labels. From my previous article on Agnona Pants and my own offline try-on experiences, I've found that Agnona's less expensive items are more likely to contain viscose, and sometimes viscose items are even pricier than those made from natural fabrics. Therefore, I always check the fabric label before choosing. Their items, whether in their specialty cashmere or some wool trousers, are generally good.

Moreover, Agnona and Gabriela Hearst are very suitable for those with average body types; the models they choose are not overly thin. I have purchased from both brands and will continue to do so when I find suitable pieces.

Being a cashmere brand, Agnona's designs tend to be more classic and basic, without flamboyant styles like lantern sleeves or flared trousers.

The image below shows a mock neck base layer top made from a 70% cashmere + 30% mulberry silk blend.

Available in 5 colors.

Another Plissé fabric is a 70% cotton + 30% mulberry silk blend, used to make a short-sleeve top, a skirt, trousers, and a cardigan set.

Available in 3 colors.

There is also a Pleats set (short-sleeve top, skirt) made of 70% cotton + 30% mulberry silk, which the official website has also labeled as Plissé. It's enough for everyone to be aware of this distinction.

Dikla Levsky

Dikla Levsky is a professional brand specializing in printed mulberry silk scarves, all made in Italy. They excel in various original artistic printed patterns. Printed Plissé Twill Silk is a characteristic feature; Dikla Levsky's silks are all twill, giving them more three-dimensionality.

Speaking of artistic prints, I have encountered Gabriela Hearst the most so far. She also incorporates her paintings into her garments, often featuring such abstract color combinations. I will talk more about this later.

Azur

Azur is a niche eco-friendly natural fabric brand established in Marseille, France, in 2019. Compared to the brands mentioned above, its texture is somewhat inferior. Their 100% mulberry silk fabric is woven in Jharkhand, India; their 50% GOTS cotton and 50% linen blend is woven in Étupes, France; and their 100% merino wool is sourced from various parts of France. All items are dyed using local Marseille plants, and the plissé and felt pressing are done by hand in Marseille.

Azur's positioning and style are similar to Emi Less, mentioned in the article "Love Toteme? Here Are 6 High-Quality, Affordable Minimalist Alternative Brands ". They represent a new generation of French niche brands that focus on natural fabrics and offer good value. Both use a lot of mulberry silk. I plan to write a dedicated article on these two brands in the future.

Azur's bestselling item is the Silk Plissé scrunchie. The irregular Plissé folds paired with the irregular gradient of the hand plant dyeing are a perfect match.

Azur offers Plissé dresses, tank tops, and skirts in various styles. However, as you can see from the pictures, their Plissé Silk is extremely elastic; the dresses shrink to look like scarves.

Azur's style leans towards the artistic, so it's difficult to judge the quality of its silhouettes. The dyeing methods and the highly elastic treatment of the Plissé are very distinctive.

Epilogue

To conclude, let's compare the Plissé fabrics with different proportions of mulberry silk mentioned above.

The two on the left are Agnona's 70% cashmere blend and 70% cotton blend, respectively. You can see that the cashmere blend has a fuzzier texture, while the 70% cotton blend feels harder and somewhat thicker.

Agnona is a cashmere brand. From the first introduction to Agnona , we know that Agnona excels in various distinctive cashmere knits. Even its Plissé is knitted.

The blue fabric is Gabriela Hearst's 100% mulberry silk. Some fibers have been rubbed off and pilled, adding to the irregularity of the color depth and lines. Azur's 100% mulberry silk, on the other hand, appears to be of lower quality—too stiff and the fabric too thin, which is to be expected given its price point.

Agnona I felt and tried offline, 70% cotton + 30% mulberry silk are not good, the cotton is too hard, after wearing cashmere and mulberry silk, ordinary cotton will feel too hard and uncomfortable

In addition, because it is knit, Plisse is easily confused with ribbing. You can look at the picture below. The two on the left are ordinary knit ribbing, the blue one is Plisse. Plisse is relatively more elastic, and the grey-blue one on the far right can also be considered Plisse, irregularly dense.

This Plisse has been very common in the past two years, seen in both domestic and international trendy brands, except that ordinary brands use polyester fiber like Issey Miyake or cheap mulberry silk like Azur.

For quality pursuit, the Plisse technique is recommended with high-quality mulberry silk that has both luster and a silky texture, or a blend of cashmere and mulberry silk. Low-end mulberry silk and cotton-mulberry silk blends are not recommended, let alone polyester fiber.

Epilogue

Hope I can also find a silk Plisse dress with an artistic flair like this this year. It's too beautiful and unique. If not Plisse, Pleat is also acceptable. Clothes made of silk fabric are all about design sense. I also learned a lot from the summarized Greek Chiton clothing and the Delphos dress from the early 20th century.

The Delphos Plisse dress has not been successfully reproduced by any brand to this day. Even Gabriela Hearst's silk has a slightly fuzzy feel and is machine woven. The luster of the Delphos silk was also stunning. Let's see who can reproduce it in the future.

pamperherself