What is Haute Couture?
Haute couture is the art of “high sewing”. Started in the 19th century in Paris, it is fashion at its finest and most elaborate. Garments are made by hand from start to finish and custom-fitted to the wearer’s body, involving teams of designers, seamstresses and highly specialised artisans trained in legacy couture techniques. Only houses accredited by the French Ministry of Industry are legally permitted to bear the haute couture label.
€9,000
The starting price for a couture dress. Suits adapted from runway samples can cost slightly less, while bridal gowns can climb into the hundreds of thousands, depending on the materials and number of hours involved. Despite the high price tags, haute couture is not considered a lucrative business. In fact, many famous fashion houses lose money on their couture operations, writing it off as a marketing expense for their real profit-makers: perfume, makeup and leather goods.
Who buys it?
Couture customers today are much younger and more geographically diverse than the aristocratic Europeans and nouveau riche Americans that financed Paris’s fashion economy nearly a century ago. In recent decades, couturiers have seen a rush of new clients hailing from the Middle East, Russia, China, Korea and Brazil. “Women from the Middle East are our top buyers and they are likely to remain so,” Jeffry Aronsson, chief executive of Emanuel Ungaro, told Reuters in 2011. Alexander Vauthier tells Vogue his clients are from the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
10
The number of fittings one recent Dior client underwent for a heavily embellished, one-of-a-kind gown, which took nearly a year to make. Simpler garments adopted from runway models require fewer fittings – often only two or three. Many opt to have a mannequin made to their measurements so that they do not have to travel to Paris for repeated fittings.
Chanel: 1937 vs 2017
Originally established in Biarritz, France, in 1915, Chanel’s revived couture atelier has flourished under Karl Lagerfeld, creative director of Chanel since 1983. In fact, the company has acquired stakes in nearly a dozen of France’s storied savoir-faire maisons, including Lesage and Lemarié, who create the fine embroidery, feathers, pleating, buttons and accessories required to realise a full couture look.
6
The number of employees, consisting of one première and five seamstresses, dedicated to creating a single couture garment at Versace.
1858
The year Charles Frederick Worth, the world’s very first couturier, opened his atelier in Paris. He later went on to found the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, which continues to regulate the couture industry in France today.
36
Of the 15 official couture maisons, 13 are showing during Autumn/Winter 2017 Couture Week. (Givenchy, which appointed a new creative director in March, and Yiqing Yin, who is taking a break to work on side projects, will both be absent.)
The other 23 slots on the schedule have been allotted to “corresponding members” headquartered outside of France, including Valentino and Elie Saab, as well as “guest members”, which this season include the American ready-to-wear designers Proenza Schouler and Rodarte, and Belgian label A.F. Vandevorst.
Explore the 15 “permanent members” of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne below.
A former assistant under Marc Bohan at Dior, Adeline André launched her label in 1981 and was made a permanent member of the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture in 2005.
Jean Paul Gaultier’s former studio director founded his eponymous label in 2009, which was given official couture status in 2014.
The Lyons native, who once designed accessories for John Galliano and Hedi Slimane at Dior, has been a permanent member of the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture since 2012.
Founded as a hat boutique called “Chanel Modes” in 1910, Chanel opened its first couture atelier in Biarritz, France, in 1915, ceasing operations after founder Gabrielle Coco Chanel’s death in 1971. The house was revived in 1983 under designer Karl Lagerfeld.
Christian Dior launched his eponymous maison with his “New Look” collection in 1947, making global headlines and effectively re-establishing Paris as the centre of fashion after World War II. Today, the house is led by former Valentino designer Maria Grazia Chiuri.
French designer Franck Sorbier showed his first collection in 1987 and began showing as a guest member of couture in 1999. In 2005, his status was made permanent.
The Italian-born designer was the head of ready-to-wear at Emanuel Ungaro before setting up his own house in Paris in 2004. In 2011, he showed his first couture collection as a guest member and was made a permanent member later that year.
Trained under Pierre Cardin, the French designer opened his house in 1982 and joined the couture week calendar in 1997. In 2015, he shuttered his ready-to-wear line to focus solely on couture.
Jean Paul Gaultier’s former assistant established his own fashion house in 2009, and was made a permanent couture member in 2017.
The Belgian designer Martin Margiela set up his own label in 1989, joining the couture schedule as a guest member in 2006. It wasn’t until 2012, three years after he left the company, that it achieved permanent couture status. Today the house is led by former Dior creative director John Galliano.
The Italian designer presented his first collection in Milan in 1987, becoming a permanent member of of the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture in 2008.
Coco Chanel’s great rival, the Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli, founded her couture house in 1927. She closed the house in 1954. It was re-established in Paris by Tod’s Group CEO Diego Della Valle in 2012, and rejoined the couture schedule in 2014. Bertrand Guyon has been creative director since 2015.
The French designer got his start at the house of Balenciaga at the age of 20. He presented his first couture collection under his name as a guest member in 2007, becoming a permanent member the next year.
Cristobal Balenciaga protégé Hubert de Givenchy founded his own maison in 1952 at the age of 24, achieving international fame for his collaborations with the actress Audrey Hepburn. In March 2017, Clare Waight Keller was appointed creative director of the house.
The Chinese-born, Paris-based designer established her house in 2011, gaining official couture status in December 2015. She has taken a break from showing since January 2016 to work on side projects.
Sources
Information was sourced from the Fédération Française de la Couture du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode, accredited haute couture houses and couture clients.
By Lauren Indvik & Jacqui Maher.
Additional research by Annachiara Biondi