0 a type of soft, light cloth with a pattern of raised lines, usually made from silk (= a delicate, smooth cloth made from threads produced by small creatures called silkworms):
This is an Yves St. Laurent evening ensemble, from 1983-84, with a cape of marigold silk faille and a gown of black silk velvet.
If a fabric's going to do this much for me, I want to know how to pronounce it properly. It's faille, and it sounds just like the word file.
The ribbed texture of the faille fabric lets you feel supported, but not squeezed.