Excuse leader of the fold (5)
I believe the answer is:
pleat
'fold' is the definition.
(pleating is a kind of folding)
'excuse leader of the' is the wordplay.
'excuse' becomes 'plea' (I've seen this before).
'leader of' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'the' is 't'.
'plea'+'t'='PLEAT'
(Other definitions for pleat that I've seen before include "Fold in material" , "Fold in a skirt" , "Fold sewn or pressed into cloth" , "Double fold in a garment" , "Gather" .)