Tom's Sons

 

Above: Leon Kalajian

Tom’s Sons International Pleating has been a family-owned fabric and textile pleating business in New York city’s Garment District since 1931. 

“My mother was doing pleating when I was very, very young. Every chance I get, I am in the factory — I was 6 years old. I have to work. I cannot stay at home. I have to do something. I have to be around people. Someday they ask you: ‘When the pleating is not in fashion, what will you do?’ I do pleating! For me it never goes out, the pleating. Every day I can create a new style.” 

Leon Kalajian

                               

George Kalajian (above) is a  master craftsman in New York City’s Garment District, with pleating expertise passed down through five generations. He has collaborated with many prestigious fashion brands and institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dior and film and television productions. He is the current owner of Tom’s Sons International Pleating, established by his grandfather Leon, George oversees every aspect of production, preserving and advancing the art of pleating for future generations.