What’s more summertime than tie-dye? But, brace yourselves—while you might remember throwing a bunch of rubber bands on a ratty t-shirt at summer camp, we’re about to elevate the pastime in a major way. After all, designers from Isabel Marant to Stella McCartney to Raquel Allegra have been favoring the print lately, proving that with the right pattern and certainly with the right garment, this craft can look a lot less kitschy and a lot more chic.
What you probably didn’t know when you were 12 is that what we call “tie dye” actually stems from an ancient Japanese practice called shibori, which traditionally calls for natural indigo dye and is an umbrella term for a variety of patterned dyeing techniques. All of them are variations on folding, twisting, and tying a garment before dipping it into the indigo dye. But what sets apart traditional shibori from the rubber-band-and-dump technique we know (and love) is that it tends to be very precise, ensuring a beautiful pattern that is equal parts uniform and unique.
With a cool-girl dress from Madewell as our perfect base garment, we opted to try Itajime shibori, which involves folding the fabric into an accordion pleat before binding it between two squares of wood and securing it with rubber bands. The resulting pattern? A beautifully abstract take on the windowpane trend.
It sounds complicated, but it’s not (though it is a little messy).

How to Tie Dye the High Fashion Way