![]() ![]() ![]() Once the preserve of the ball-going European elite, the modern customer hails from a 2,000-strong collection of largely Russian, Chinese and Middle Eastern consumers, with many buying exquisite pieces as much for investment and collecting purposes as for their wearable value. A single Giambattista Valli gown, after all, can take up to 6,000 metres of fine fabric to create.Īccordingly the customer base for couture clothing is vanishingly small - and has changed greatly since its inception. It is not inconceivable for the most labour intensive pieces to have a price tag in the millions. ![]() Evening and formalwear can easily rocket in to the tens or hundreds of thousands with fine fabrics, embroidery and embellishment all hiking the price considerably. While all couture garments are officially ‘price on application’, insiders estimate that a basic daywear piece will start at around £8,000 and climb steeply after that. Of course, clothing given this level of time and attention doesn’t come cheap. The tradition of closing an haute couture show with a wedding dress has also resulted in some of the most incredible gowns to ever hit the runway - while the most buzzed about red carpet moments, such as Angelina Jolie in that Versace dress or Jennifer Lawrence tripping over her voluminous Dior gown at the Oscars, have all come courtesy of couture collections. Simply Google Dior’s theatrical SS03 collection inspired by Japanese kimonos and Chinese costumes or Karl Lagerfeld’s ‘Legend and Fairy Tales’ 90th anniversary show for Fendi (AW16) for a case in point. Rare fabrics, hand embellishment and show stopping silhouettes are de rigeuer - often providing some of the most memorable moments in fashion history. This level of quality and care would be practically impossible at any other level of the fashion system.Īccordingly the looks themselves represent fashion at its most fantastical. The petites mains responsible for executing couture looks, for example, typically train for a minimum of ten years before being accepted to a couture atelier while a single piece often represents hundreds of hours of work. It must also have a workshop in Paris (if not a Correspondent or guest member) employing at least 15 full-time staff and 20 full-time technical workers and present two collections per year (in January and July) comprising both formal and daywear looks.Īnd, while these strict criteria may in other settings serve to stifle creativity, when it comes to haute couture they instead aim to preserve and protect the traditional craftsmanship, skill and innovation which makes the highest echelons of fashion so aspirational. ![]() So what does a design house need to do to qualify for haute couture recognition? Most importantly, it must create made-to-measure clothing for private clients and include personal fittings as part of the production process. These members, which currently include Ralph & Russo, Guo Pei and Iris Van Herpen among others, may only use the term ‘couture’ to describe their collections but can graduate to full haute couture status after two years (four consecutive seasons). In addition to this, the Chambre Syndicale invites a number of ‘guest members’ to show during Haute Couture week in Paris each season. There are currently seven Correspondent members: Azzedine Alaia, Elie Saab, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Versace and Viktor & Rolf. However, in recognition that extraordinary design talent does not hail from Paris alone, the Chambre Syndicale also grants ‘Correspondent’ membership to houses based outside the city. There are currently 16 designated haute couture houses: ![]()
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