Is Brad's cummerbund pleated? Well, judging by visual evidence alone it's very hard to tell. But I will say that I've never met a cummerbund that wasn't pleated. They may absolutely exist, but they would be a very rare specimen. I'd be inclined to write them off as homemade unless they had their original label intact. So abiding by the laws of fashion and "how things are generally done" - you can actually still pleat a plaid to look the same as it's original, un-pleated layout just by folding it carefully.
Also, the pleats on a cummerbund should always go up. That is, imagine them as a crumb-catcher. I've also heard that men could keep their valet tickets and such inside the folds - though that seems silly to me since I've never seen a men's tuxedo lacking in pockets inside and out.
So here I've used a piece of paper. My printer was running out of red ink, but I think the fading actually helps delineate the pleats for this purpose. The light areas have 9 squares in them - pleated or not.
