Haute couture (
French for "high sewing" or "high
dressmaking"; pronounced ) refers to the creation of exclusive
custom-fitted
clothing.
Haute
couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is
usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with
extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming,
hand-executed techniques.
Couture is a common abbreviation
of
Haute Couture, which refers to the same thing in
spirit.
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 is produced in Paris
or in other
fashion capitals such as Milan
, London
, Rome
, Florence
, New York
and Tokyo
.
The term can refer to:
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 (i.e., twice a year), present a collection to the
Paris press, comprising at least thirty-five runs/exits with
outfits for both daytime wear and evening wear.
However, the term
haute couture may have been misused by
ready-to-wear brands since the late 1980s, so that its true meaning
may have 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 is 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
Roberto 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 collections are often not for sale or they are
very difficult to purchase. Sometimes, "haute couture" is
inappropriately used to label non-dressmaking activities, such as
fine art, music and more.
Members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute
Couture
The fashion houses listed on the definitive schedule for
Haute-Couture Fall/Winter 2009/2010 are:
In the 2008 Spring/Summer Haute Couture week, Guest members
included
Eymeric François,
Gérald Watelet,
Nicolas Le Cauchois and
On aura tout vu. In the 2008/2009
Fall/Winter Haute Couture week,
Emanuel
Ungaro showed as an Official Member and
WU
YONG [757404] as a Guest member.
Former members
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
dressmakers 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 is known today.
Although born in Bourne,
Lincolnshire
, England
, Worth made
his mark in the French fashion industry. Revolutionizing how
dressmaking had been previously perceived, Worth made it so the
dressmaker became the artist of garnishment: a fashion designer.
While he created one-of-a-kind designs to please some of his titled
or wealthy customers, he is 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 was also
successful in establishing her own line.
Lacroix is perhaps the most
successful of the fashion houses to have been started in the late
20th century. Other new houses have included
Jean-Paul Gaultier 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. It is their
ready-to-wear collections that are available to a wider audience,
adding a splash of glamour and the feel of haute couture to more
wardrobes.
The 1960s also featured a revolt against established fashion
standards by
mod, 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 is no longer
the sole arbiter of fashion.
See also
References
- Wuyong - Dancing In A Haute Couture Debut
External links
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