Tom's Sons International Pleating

What Tom's Sons International Pleating does

Tom's Sons International Pleating is a fifth-generation, family-owned fabric pleating contractor established in 1931 and currently led by Leon Kalajian and his son George Kalajian. The firm operates a single full-service pleating facility at 327 West 36th Street in New York City's Garment District, with a staff of 1-10 employees structured as a New York LLC. Its technical capabilities span hand pleating, pattern pleating, and machine pleating across multiple styles (sunburst, accordion, box, side, Fortuny, mushroom, organic) on textiles including silk, polyester, chiffon, lace, cotton, linen, nylon, and leather, supplemented by in-house textile weaving, dyeing, finishing, and industrial garment construction (cutting, sewing, pressing). Five generations of accumulated craftsmanship — passed down within the Kalajian family — constitute the firm's central production capability.

The company serves a diversified customer base: luxury couture houses and fashion designers (The Row, Dior, Vera Wang, Alexander McQueen, Christian Siriano, Naeem Khan, Alexander Wang, Diane von Furstenberg) as the primary B2B segment; film and television costume productions for historically accurate garment recreations; the MET Museum; interior designers; and a direct-to-consumer bridal and individual consumer segment served through a Shopify-powered global e-commerce storefront. Revenue is generated via per-project custom pleating quotes, unit-priced ready-made scarves ($95-$375), pleated fabrics by the yard (~$10-$19.50/yard), bespoke made-to-order skirts, gift cards, fabric sales, and sales of the company's published textbook 'Pleating: Fundamentals for Fashion Design' ($34.99). Technical consulting is offered as a separate professional service stream, drawing on nine decades of experience to help clients avoid manufacturing errors.

Commercially, the firm pursues a sales-led B2B motion for enterprise clients (direct outreach, order forms, walk-in consultations at the Garment Center facility) combined with content-driven DTC marketing through a technical blog, color chart downloads, and earned media coverage in Vogue Arabia, The New York Times, PBS NewsHour, and Inc. Magazine. Project Golden Bear, a separately organized initiative, extends the firm's mission to preserve couture craftsmanship through training future generations. The business positions itself as a rare surviving example of US artisan pleating amid a domestic fashion manufacturing decline from 70% in the 1980s to 3% today.

Name

Tom's Sons International Pleating

Legal name

Tom's Sons International Pleating LLC

Website

https://internationalpleating.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1931

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tom's Sons International Pleating is a fifth-generation family-owned artisan pleating contractor in NYC's Garment District, serving luxury fashion houses, film/TV productions, museums, interior designers, and individual bridal customers with custom couture pleating, ready-made scarves, fabrics, and educational publishing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Custom Pleating Services: B2B custom pleating services for fashion designers, costume designers, and bridal customers. Customers submit order forms specifying pleat style, fabric, and measurements. Services include sample development through to full production runs.
2. Direct-to-Consumer Pleated Products: E-commerce sales of ready-made pleated products including scarves (silk chiffon sunburst scarves ranging from $95-$375), pleated fabrics (bridal fabrics, trims), gift cards ($10-$100), and the Pleating: Fundamentals for Fashion Design textbook ($34.99).
3. Consulting Services: Technical consulting services drawing on 90+ years of industry experience, ranging from saving clients from costly manufacturing disasters to long-term design planning relationships. Helps clients achieve design goals through deep textile and pleating expertise.
4. Fabric Sales: Sale of pleated fabrics and fabric scraps to customers. Includes custom fabric sourcing and custom dyeing and printing services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Tom's Sons International Pleating is a fifth-generation, family-owned fabric pleating contractor headquartered in New York City's Garment District. It provides custom pleating services (sunburst, accordion, box, side, Fortuny, mushroom, and organic pleating) across silk, polyester, chiffon, lace, cotton, linen, nylon, and leather textiles, alongside ready-made pleated products such as scarves and fabrics, custom bridal pleating, bespoke skirts, consulting services, and a published textbook on pleating fundamentals.

Product overview

Tom's Sons International Pleating is a fifth-generation family-owned fabric pleating business established in 1931, operating as a full-service pleating contractor in New York City's Garment District. The company offers custom pleating services (sunburst, accordion, box pleat, side pleat, Fortuny, and mushroom pleating) alongside a portfolio of pre-made products including pleated scarves, pleated fabrics, and custom bridal offerings. The business also publishes 'Pleating: Fundamentals for Fashion Design,' the first book dedicated solely to pleating. Services span sample development through production, with related offerings including bespoke skirt creation, fabric consulting, and Project Golden Bear—an initiative preserving couture craftsmanship skills.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Pleating Services Full-service custom pleating from sample development to production, offering sunburst, accordion, box, side, Fortuny, and mushroom pleating across silk, polyester, chiffon, lace, cotton, linen, nylon, and leather textiles for fashion designers, costume designers, and couture houses.
• Pleated Scarves Pre-made pleated scarves in silk chiffon sunburst styles with 98+ color options and polyester chiffon variants, priced from $95 to $375, sold direct-to-consumer via the company's Shopify storefront.
• Pleated Fabrics Pleated fabric by the yard including mushroom pleated, Fortuny-inspired, and side pleated varieties in polyester, silk, and other textiles for garment construction (e.g., Hi Multi Chiffon at $19.50/yard).
• Custom Bridal Pleating Custom pleating services tailored for bridal wear including wedding dresses, veils, and accessories featuring mushroom pleated, Fortuny pleated, and side pleated options for individual brides and bridal designers.
• Custom Pleated Bespoke Skirts Custom-made-to-order pleated skirts tailored to individual customer specifications including fabric selection, color, length, and pleat style, with a muslin waistband trial fitting for fit.
• Pleating: Fundamentals for Fashion Design (Textbook) The first book solely dedicated to pleating, authored by Leon and George Kalajian, featuring over 300 photos of pleated high-fashion creations and practical diagrams, with a foreword by Jack Sauma of Mood Designer Fabrics; available signed or unsigned for $34.99.
• Textile and Pleating Consulting Services Technical consulting services leveraging five generations of industry experience to help clients with design planning, quality control, and preventing costly manufacturing errors in pleating projects.
• Holiday / Seasonal Pleated Decor Seasonal pleated home decor products including holiday stockings and decorative items featuring pleated charmeuse and other fabrics, sold direct-to-consumer.

Quantifiable outcome

• Consulting services have saved clients from costly manufacturing disasters worth tens of thousands of dollars
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationThe company's e-commerce storefront is powered by Shopify Inc., which provides the online platform enabling direct-to-consumer sales of pleated products globally. Shopify also processes customer data and payment transactions. The privacy policy explicitly references Shopify as the data processor.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Maison Lesage: Chanel-owned embroidery and textile embellishment atelier serving couture houses globally. Comparable through its artisan-Métiers d'Art operating model and couture clientele, though its core craft is embroidery rather than pleating.
• Atelier Montex: Chanel Métiers d'Art embroidery house with a couture specialist model similar to Tom's Sons' artisan positioning. Adjacent rather than direct given its embroidery focus, but operates within the same luxury artisan supply chain.

Others

• Mood Designer Fabrics: Iconic NYC Garment District fabric retailer and supplier whose executive (Jack Sauma) authored the foreword for Tom's Sons' pleating textbook. Operates in the same Garment District ecosystem that supports couture designers and is a natural counterparty and referral channel.
• B&J Fabrics: Long-standing NYC Garment District fabric retailer serving fashion designers and bridal clients. Comparable as a fellow Garment District specialty supplier with overlapping couture and bridal customer base rather than as a direct pleating competitor.

Emerging players

• Closely Crafted: Featured alongside Tom's Sons in the PBS NewsHour segment on US artisan preservation in fashion. Comparable as an emerging craft-preservation peer in the same media narrative, with overlap in couture and bespoke production.
• Custom Collaborative: NYC nonprofit featured alongside Tom's Sons in the 2024 PBS NewsHour segment on preserving artisan craft in fashion. Comparable as an emerging artisan-preservation player with related mission, though focused on broader fashion production rather than pleating specifically.

Direct peers

• Maison Lemarié: Paris-based Chanel-owned Métiers d'Art atelier known for luxury pleating, featherwork, and camellia fabrication. Directly comparable as an atelier-style luxury pleating specialist serving couture houses via Chanel's Paraffection.
• Fortuny: Italian luxury textile house founded by Mariano Fortuny, historically famous for its patented Fortuny pleating technique on silk. Operates as a couture-level textile atelier in the same high-end pleating niche Tom's Sons serves, making it the closest analog in category positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tom's Sons International Pleating