Matelassé, a French term meaning “quilted” or “padded”, is an extraordinary textile technique known for its elegance, comfort and refinement.
Matelassé was born in France in the mid-18th century during the reign of Louis XVI, where it was mainly used in production of blankets and upholstery. Its unique aesthetic quickly gained prominence in high society. This workmanship was an attempt to reproduce the style of hand-sewn quilts made in Marseille, thus giving it the name Marseille work or Marseille quilting.
The design served not only practical purposes, such as providing heat, but also served as an emblem of status and wealth.
Over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, the use of matelassé expanded throughout Europe and eventually into North America. Today it is widely used and loved in the world of interior design and fashion and is used for upholstery and clothing.
Matelassé fabric is characterized by its unique, gathered or “quilted” appearance, and its creation requires a special weaving process. This is a rather complex process, divided into a series of steps:
- Creating the pattern: The first step involves creating a design that can actually produce the gathered or quilted effect when woven. These designs often feature floral, geometric or abstract motifs, depending on the desired final look.
- Weaving: Matelassé is typically produced on a jacquard loom, which allows intricate patterns to be woven into the fabric. The loom weaves together multiple layers of threads at various tensions, creating a “bubble” effect. This variation in tension is the key to obtaining the characteristic texture of the matelassé fabric.
- Finishing: Once the fabric is ready, it undergoes a finishing process. The fabric is wetted, which causes the looser threads to shrink and creates a raised, gathered effect. Finishing may also involve washing, dyeing and drying processes to give the fabric its final look and feel.
The production of matelassé can be laborious and requires great attention to detail, which makes it so unique and precious and is the reason why it we still include in our garments, such as our FLAIRE silk sun matelassé
“We decided to apply matelassé embroidery to our denim to increase the value of our product and give our customers a one-of-a-kind garment.
Thanks to this process, each garment is unique in its details”
– Gianna, Shaft Jeans prototyper –
