Plissade has been awarded Textile Design of the Year at the Dezeen Awards 2025, recognising its innovative redefinition of acoustic partitions through textile design. The project transforms a traditional textile craft into a sculptural and architectural element, proposing an alternative approach to spatial division that is both functional and material-driven.

Selected by Dezeen’s international panel of judges from hundreds of entries worldwide, Plissade stood out for its distinctive aesthetic and forward-thinking use of textiles. The jury praised the project for its originality, technical execution, and relevance to contemporary design practice, highlighting its ability to push the boundaries of what textile design can be.

An all-textile room divider

Drawing on a reinterpretation of the traditional craft of textile pleating, Plissade introduces a contemporary take on a bygone piece of furniture. Instead of relying on rigid frames or composite constructions, the project explores how structure can be generated purely through textile manipulation. Its innovative folding technique allows the textile to stand without additional support, using binder- and adhesive-free stiffening methods.

Lightweight and modular, Plissade is designed to adapt to a variety of spatial configurations. Packed with colour and defined by a strong geometric rhythm, it offers a versatile solution for spatial division in both residential and professional environments, while also contributing to acoustic comfort.

Bridging industries

Inspired by the structural qualities garments gain through pleat folding, the studio set out to explore whether textiles could serve as the primary structural element for acoustic partitions, without sacrificing the inherent softness, flexibility, and expressive colour of the material. This ambition informed an extensive research and prototyping phase focused on material behaviour and production methods.

Throughout development, Luis Marie prioritised local production, collaborating with manufacturers outside the interior design industry. The innovative assembly process draws on existing technologies from both the fashion and automotive upholstery sectors, where textiles are shaped and stabilised through precision and repetition. By encouraging manufacturers to reinterpret their existing machinery, the project reduced the need for new equipment and tooling, while minimising waste through more efficient production techniques.

A circular product

Acoustic solutions have gained increasing relevance in recent years, driven by the rise of open-plan offices and flexible work environments. However, most products on the market rely either on textiles glued to foam over a wooden or metal frame, or on rigid pressed felt panels. The first approach raises significant environmental concerns, while the second limits flexibility, functionality, and colour variation.

Plissade proposes an alternative. Its structure consists of a series of hollow, diamond-shaped tubes formed by two interlocking textile layers, using what designers at Luis Marie call the “fold and friction” method. By eliminating adhesives, resins, and rigid reinforcements, the design ensures a truly circular product that can be fully disassembled and recycled at the end of its life.