This work addresses a generalization of Dean’s classical problem, which sought to explain
how an annular thin elastic plate buckles under uniform shearing forces applied around its
edges. We adapt the original setting by assuming that the outer edge is radially stretched
while the inner rim undergoes in-plane rotation through some small angle. Boundarylayer
methods are used to investigate analytically the deformation pattern which is set up
and localized around the inner hole when this angle reaches a well-defined critical
wrinkling value. Linear stability theory enables us to identify both the critical load and
the preferred number of wrinkles appearing in the deformed configuration. Our
asymptotic results are compared with a number of direct numerical simulations.