Everything about Haute Couture totally explained
Haute couture (
French for "high sewing" or "high dressmaking"; ) refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted fashions. It originally referred to Englishman
Charles Frederick Worth's work, produced in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century. In modern France, haute couture is a "protected name" that can be used only by firms that meet certain well-defined standards. However, the term is also used loosely to describe all high-fashion custom-fitted clothing, whether it's produced in
Paris or in other fashion capitals such as
Milan,
London,
Rome,
New York and
Tokyo.
Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it's usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques.
The term can refer to:
- the fashion houses or fashion designers that create exclusive and often trend-setting fashions
- the fashions created
Legal status
In France, the term haute couture is protected by law and is defined by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris based in Paris, France. Their rules state that only "those companies mentioned on the list drawn up each year by a commission domiciled at the Ministry for Industry are entitled to avail themselves" of the label haute couture. The criteria for haute couture were established in 1945 and updated in 1992.
To earn the right to call itself a couture house and to use the term
haute couture in its advertising and any other way, members of the
Chambre syndicale de la haute couture must follow these rules:
- Design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings.
- Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen people full-time.
- Each season (for example, twice a year), present a collection to the Paris press, comprising at least thirty-five runs with outfits for both daytime wear and evening wear.
However, the term
haute couture has been misused by successive ready-to-wear brands and high street labels since the late 1980s so that its true meaning has become blurred with that of
prêt-à-porter (the French term for
ready-to-wear fashion) in the public perception. Every
haute couture house also markets
prêt-à-porter collections, which typically deliver a higher
return on investment than their custom clothing. In fact, much of the
haute couture displayed at fashion shows today is rarely sold; it's created to enhance the prestige of the house. Falling revenues have forced a few
couture houses to abandon their less profitable
couture division and concentrate solely on the less prestigious
prêt-à-porter. These houses, such as Italian designer Antonio Capucci, all of whom have their workshops in Italy, are no longer considered
haute couture.
Many top designer fashion houses, such as Chanel, use the word for some of their special collections. These collection are often not for sale or they're very difficult to purchase.
Members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture
As of the 2008 Spring/Summer Haute Couture
Fashion Week.
Former members
There is a difference between haute couture and just couture. Paris no longer holds a monopoly on this term. There are many designers around the world in countries such as Lebanon, Russia, Romania and the USA creating couture. Many designers present their collections at event such as Couture Fashion Week in New York.
History
French leadership in European fashion may perhaps be dated from the
18th century, when the art, architecture, music, and fashions of the French court at
Versailles were imitated across Europe. Visitors to Paris brought back clothing that was then copied by local dressmakers. Stylish women also ordered fashion dolls dressed in the latest Parisian fashion to serve as models.
As railroads and steamships made European travel easier, it was increasingly common for wealthy women to travel to Paris to shop for clothing and accessories. French fitters and
seamstresses were commonly thought to be the best in Europe, and real Parisian garments were considered better than local imitations.
The
couturier Charles Frederick Worth (
October 13,
1826–
March 10,
1895), is widely considered the father of
haute couture as it's known today. Although born in
Bourne, Lincolnshire,
England, Worth made his mark in the French fashion industry. While he created one-of-a-kind designs to please some of his titled or wealthy customers, he's best known for preparing a portfolio of designs that were shown on live models at the House of Worth. Clients selected one model, specified colors and fabrics, and had a duplicate garment tailor-made in Worth's workshop. Worth combined individual tailoring with a standardization more characteristic of the ready-to-wear clothing industry, which was also developing during this period.
Following in Worth's footsteps were
Callot Soeurs,
Patou,
Poiret,
Vionnet,
Fortuny,
Lanvin,
Chanel,
Mainbocher,
Schiaparelli,
Balenciaga, and
Dior. Some of these fashion houses still exist today, under the leadership of modern designers.
In the 1960s a group of young designers who had trained under men like Dior and Balenciaga left these established
couture houses and opened their own establishments. The most successful of these young designers were
Yves Saint Laurent,
Pierre Cardin,
André Courrèges, and
Emanuel Ungaro. Japanese native and Paris-based
Hanae Mori, a woman, was also successful in establishing her own line.
Lacroix is perhaps the most successful of the fashion houses to have been started in the last decade. Other new houses are
Jean-Paul Gaultier, John Bator and
Thierry Mugler.
For all these fashion houses, custom clothing is no longer the main source of income, often costing much more than it earns through direct sales; it only adds the aura of fashion to their ventures in
ready-to-wear clothing and related
luxury products such as
shoes and
perfumes, and
licensing ventures that earn greater returns for the company. Excessive commercialization and profit-making can be damaging, however. Cardin, for example, licensed with abandon in the 1980s and his name lost most of its fashionable cachet when anyone could buy Cardin luggage at a discount store.
The 1960s also featured a revolt against established fashion standards by
mods, rockers, and
hippies, as well as an increasing internationalization of the fashion scene. Jet travel had spawned a
jet set that partied—and shopped—just as happily in New York as in Paris. Rich women no longer felt that a Paris dress was necessarily better than one sewn elsewhere. While Paris is still pre-eminent in the fashion world, it's no longer the sole arbiter of fashion.
Further Information
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