The Art of Pleating

In December 2025, Victoria's last commercial pleater closed its doors, bringing Australia to the brink of losing a remarkable specialist making capability.

Join us for the premiere of The Art of Pleating - the inaugural short film from The Artisanal Collective - tracing the history and significance of pleating in Australia while asking a much bigger question: what does it take to ensure specialist making capability has a future?

Using pleating as a lens, the film, directed by Clare Press, explores what happens when the specialist skills that make fashion possible begin to disappear and why preserving capability is about more than heritage. It is about creativity, innovation, and Australia's future capacity to make.

Following the screening, The Artisanal Collective Founder Alida Milani will moderate a conversation with Clare, pleating technician Avril Buchanan, and RMIT Dean of Fashion & Textiles Dr Alice Payne.

Together, they will explore what it takes to rebuild specialist making capability, why human craftsmanship is becoming more valuable in the age of AI, and how collaboration can help shape Australia's making future.

This project is in partnership with RMIT University and supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.