What Is Ombré?

How is ombré made?

Ombré is made by dyeing, printing or weaving yarn or cloth so that one colour runs through a series of gradations, from light to dark. The method decides where the gradient sits: in the cloth, in the thread, or on the surface.

Dip-dyeing and spray dyeing

On garments, the effect has historically been made by dip-dyeing, according to Threads magazine. It adds that a spray bottle can now be used to blend colour into the fabric’s original shade. Spraying makes it easier to concentrate colour in a small area; dip-dyeing is used mostly to colour a larger section of the garment.

The dye has to suit the fibre. Threads explains that cellulose fibres such as cotton and rayon need high-pH (alkaline) dyes, while protein fibres such as wool and mohair need low-pH (acidic) dyes. It warns that an alkaline dye will destroy animal hair fibres.

Graded-dyed thread

Ombré can also be built into the thread before it is stitched. A machine-embroidered trimming made by Houldsworth & Co. in Manchester in 1853, now at the V&A, shows the approach: its shaded (or ombré) effects came from dyeing the silk threads in graded colour.

Printing and weaving

The Textile Research Centre (TRC) in Leiden lists printing and weaving alongside dyeing as ways to produce shaded cloth. When the effect is printed, it is sometimes called shadow printing, and shaded material in general is sometimes called fondue cloth.

Printing and dyeing put colour in different places. In printing, colour is applied only on the surface of the fabric; in dyeing, time and temperature are used for better penetration, according to a textile-colouration course text published on India’s INFLIBNET platform.

Where does ombré come from?

Ombré’s origin is undocumented, but the effect is old. The TRC notes that shading can be found in many different countries, and even on Roman-period textiles from Syria dating from about AD 300.

• 1840s: shaded cloth was popular in western Europe from the 1840s onwards, according to the TRC. Printed ombré toiles and chintzes were exported from France and England to US port cities such as Baltimore, Boston, Charleston and New York, and these imported prints were often used for Baltimore album quilts.
• 1853: the Houldsworth & Co. trimming above shows graded-dyed silk being used in machine embroidery.
• 1893: Merriam-Webster gives this as the first known use of “ombré” in English.
• 1970s: the TRC describes shading as a popular technique in the West in the 1970s, when garments such as the tank top were popular.

Today the word is also used for graded hair colour and nail designs; those uses borrow the name but sit outside textiles.

What is the difference between ombré and variegated?

Ombré moves through shades of one colour, while variegated yarn or cloth is dyed in two or more colours. The TRC notes that “shaded” and “variegated” are often, incorrectly, used as if they meant the same thing.

Sources draw the line in different places. The TRC keeps ombré to one colour, but Merriam-Webster defines ombré more broadly, as having colours or tones that shade into each other. A fade between two different colours sold as “ombré” fits the dictionary sense, even if it would not fit the TRC’s.

How does ombré appear on a clothing label?

Ombré is not a required label term. Under US law, most textile products must carry a label listing fibre content, country of origin and the manufacturer or dealer, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC says other, non-required information may appear on the label, but it cannot be deceptive or misleading. A word such as “ombré” falls into that group.

The fibre line is still the useful part. It tells you which dyes the garment will take if you want to re-dye it or extend the gradient at home: cellulose fibres need alkaline dyes and protein fibres need acidic ones. If the label lists both a cellulose fibre and a protein fibre, the two parts of the blend need different dye conditions.

How do you tell a well-made ombré piece?

Most of the useful checks are about how the colour was applied and whether it will stay put.

• Count the colours. In the strict sense, ombré stays within one colour and runs from light to dark. If the piece passes through contrasting colours, the TRC would call it variegated. That is a naming point, not a fault.
• Measure how far the gradient runs. Threads notes that spray dyeing makes it easier to concentrate colour in a small area, while dip-dyeing is used mostly to colour a larger section of a garment. A fade confined to a small patch is more likely sprayed than dipped; treat that as a clue, not proof.
• Look at the thread in embroidered ombré. In the 1853 V&A trimming, the shading comes from silk dyed in graded colour, so the shade change is carried by the thread itself.
• Check for bleeding before the first wash. On a dip-dyed piece, heavily dyed cloth shares the garment with pale or undyed cloth. A simple spot test, described under colourfast, shows whether the dark end will run.

If you plan to dye a piece yourself, Threads advises always pretesting the technique before dyeing the garment.