A lightweight, sheer fabric with a relatively smooth surface, made from silk or other fibres.
Ninon is a lightweight sheer textile, with silk examples documented in both dress fabric and finished garments. The V&A records a printed silk ninon by Stehli Silks as plain weave, showing that the name can describe a straightforward woven ground carrying a printed design. A Norman Hartnell evening dress uses pale pink silk ninon over yellow silk ninon, with the overskirt arranged in partly floating panels. That example shows how a sheer fabric’s appearance depends on the layer beneath it as well as its own colour. A material description should therefore distinguish the fabric from the garment’s layering and draping.
In job listings
This is a specialist’s word and few vacancies are likely to use it. A designer or fabric developer may meet it when working on sheer eveningwear or lingerie, and comparing it with similar light fabrics such as voile. Search local jobs for “fabric”.
