Haute Couture
From The Fashion Dictionary
Haute couture is a French fashion term for "high-sewing" or "high dressmaking". Haute couture is exclusive in that it is made to order for a specific customer tailored to their body. Haute couture garments are usually made from expensive fabrics and are sewn with the utmost caution and detail. This is the reason why haute couture is so expensive, because everything is custom made and it takes months to complete a creation. [1]
Haute couture started in the eighteenth century when French court style was imitated across Europe. Since travel was booming at the time, a lot more people from far away places were exposed to the French style and so they would imitate them. Due to the expensive fabrics used and the intricate attention to detail of these garments, Paris was considered to be the fashion capital of the world, and still is to this day.
Charles Frederick Worth was the father of haute couture when he started designing custom-made garments for his clients. Customers would come in, pick a model, choose their fabrics and their colors, after which the garment would be sewn and tailored to their bodies.
Although the term haute-couture stands a different meaning today, it is still a protected name that can be used only by firms that meet the high standards. The term haute couture can either be used for the clothing itself or for the designer and the fashion house it represents.
History
Since travel was so high in the eighteenth century,wealthy women from all across the world were able to travel to Paris and get an inspiration of the best and highest fashions around. French fitters and dressmakers in Paris were considered to be the best in the business.Charles Frederick Worth was the pioneer for haute couture, although born in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. Worth became famous for bringing art to fashion and completely changing the way people looked at dressmaking. He is best know for preparing portfolios with designs that were later showcased on live models at the House of Worth.
After seeing Worth's success, hundreds of other designers followed including Fortuny, Lanvin, Chanel, Callot Soeurs, Patou, Vionnet, Schiaparelli, Balengiaga and Christian Dior.
In the 1960's, a group of young designers left the big fashion houses such as Christian Dior and Belangiaga to start their own line. Some of these designers became very successful in the fashion industry, such as Yves Saint Laurent, Andre Courreges, Emanuel Ungaro and Pierre Cardin.
Today, the fashion houses no longer expect to get a financial return on their haute couture designs. The showings are mainly there to increase the fashion house's auro and credibility. They now make their profits by selling ready-to-wear clothing and luxury products such as accessories, shoes and perfumes. This approach though, can have damaging results to the fashion designer as well as the fashion house itself if it becomes too accessible and commercialized. Take Pierre Cardin for example, whose name was lost as a fashion designer when most of his merchandise ended up all over discount store shelves.
Legal Status
Not just anyone can make a garment and call it haute couture though. In France, the term haute couture is is protected by law and defined by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris which is based in Paris, France. Their rules and guidelines 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. This criteria was introduced in 1945 and updated again in 1992. [3]
In order to call itself a couture house and advertise the term haute couture in their campaigns, members of the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture must follow these guidelines:
- 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 (i.e., 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.