Pleats, PLEASE!
Wearable Art: Inside BAACAL’s Pleated Perfection Capsule
Sponsored Content: Today’s post is loving sponsored by my dear friends at BAACAL, where I work as a freelance style advisor from time to time. Thank you CV + Rebecca! Muah!
BAACAL is a CFDA designer led brand dedicated to providing sustainably made premium Ready To Wear wardrobe heroes for the “True Size Majority”- from sizes US 8-28. Creating “FUTURE VINTAGE” and a focus on forever pieces- BAACAL is proudly sewn, cut, stitched and produced in their Los Angeles studio, sourcing from deadstock fabrics and focusing on ethical production and eco-conscious fashion options. Be sure to follow their work on socials!
SHOP BAACAL at Nordstrom’s.
In fashion, certain silhouettes transcend trend cycles and instead become part of a designer’s permanent vocabulary.
For BAACAL founder Cynthia Vincent, the pleated dress is one of those rare, enduring forms—rooted in history, shaped by craftsmanship, and beloved for how it moves with the body.
Architecturally focused, sculptural- it’s perhaps one of our most versatile pieces we offer in that it is both literally “wearable art” and perfect for everyday styling.
Cynthia’s method to pleated pieces fuse modernity to classic silhouettes in fashion, like the pleated dresses and skirts of the early 19th century.
Brilliantly bridging the references to the past whilst making these pieces feel both contemporary, elevated and yet, incredibly wearable for both everyday and evening.
While pleats have come back to the forefront of the zeitgeist in recent seasons, fabric pleating is not simply a decorative technique. It is an art form with centuries-old lineage, famously refined in Venice through the work often associated with FORTUNY gowns- the Delphos, which many reference as part of the canon of fashion—ethereal garments inspired by the drape of ancient Greek sculpture.
The romantic era of that history, combined with the revelation that intricate hand processes were central to their creation, left a lasting impression on Cynthia early in her creative life.
As a student at Otis College of Art & Design’s Parsons Summer Program for aspiring fashion designers, Cynthia would frequent museums and recall how pleating became a motif that resonated with her in her formative design studies.
For Cynthia, pleats has become a symbol of timeless elegance and representative of innovation. In the design process, we’ve discussed at great lengths how one might wear architecturally focused design in everyday life.
Craft, Process, and the Magic of Hand Pleating
What continues to draw Vincent back to pleats is not only their visual beauty, but the hands-on craftsmanship behind them.
True pleating is tactile and collaborative—fabric carefully layered between patterned papers, pressed into shape, and transformed through heat and steam.
Today, BAACAL works directly with master pleaters in Los Angeles, women-owned, minority-owned ateliers whose techniques reflect decades of expertise and preservation of an artform that has slowly disappeared with the mass engagement of fast fashion.
Creating a single pleated garment can require multiple artisans working in unison, carefully folding fabric between boards before it is steamed into permanence.
The result is texture, movement, and dimensionality that flat fabric alone can never achieve.
This devotion to process is also where innovation happens.
Vincent’s signature double-pleat technique—featuring subtle horizontal interruptions within vertical pleats—evolved from unexpected inspiration- the pleated paper once used to insulate wine bottles.
Why Pleated Dresses Flatter Every Body Shape
Beyond artistry, pleats endure because they are profoundly wearable.
A pleated dress flows rather than constricts, skims the curvature of your body rather than clings, and creates softness and motion with every step.
The diaphanous nature and quality of pleated fabric allows for natural movement, breathability and something we all love: a forgiving structure that adapts to the body (and you can ditch the shapewear and fly free if you’d like!).
Because BAACAL’s pleated pieces are vertically pleated (up and down), it allows for visual elongation and adds that extra touch of elegance. And just being honest: it takes the same amount of energy to put on as you would sweat pants- but it looks like you tried. A win!
For BAACAL—designed exclusively for sizes 10–28—this matters deeply. True craftsmanship in plus-size fashion means garments that are not only beautiful, but thoughtfully engineered to honor the body.
Elevated hand-pleating remains rare in extended and plus sizing, making it a defining element of BAACAL’s design perspective.
Timeless. Yet Modern.
Whether fashion leans minimalist or maximalist, pleats always remain visually compelling—never dated, always a touch of visual interest. Few garments balance practicality and elegance the way pleated dresses do.
An added bonus? They travel beautifully (just twist the garment into itself forming a small round, like one would a scarf!), maintain their structure over time, and resist the feeling of being tied to any single trend.
This sense of permanence is why pleated silhouettes continue to appear across BAACAL collections.
They embody the brand’s core belief: that clothing should feel modern today, meaningful tomorrow, and collectible for years to come.
A Signature That Continues To Be Modernized
For Cynthia Vincent, pleats are more than a recurring motif—they are a lifelong dialogue between history, craft, and the contemporary body.
Each BAACAL pleated dress carries that heritage forward, translating centuries of technique into garments designed for the women who wear them now.
