Haute Couture Fashion: Affirm the class and luxury
Haute Couture fashion is a relatively new concept to everyone. If you are not a person working in the field of fashion, you probably have heard this phrase. So, what is Haute Couture fashion? What kind of fashion is it? When was it invented? What kind of customers will it fit into? Find out the details below!
Table of contents
- 1 What is Haute Couture?
- 2 The development history
- 3 How to be recognized as Haute Couture?
- 4 Materials
- 5 The value of Haute Couture designs?
- 6 Who will buy Haute Couture?
What is Haute Couture?
Haute Couture is considered as an eternal dream of women, it is also known as high fashion. It represents the most luxurious, flashy, sophisticated in the fashion world today.
Haute Couture is understood as tailor fashion, is the art of apparel based on two criteria that are luxury and elaborate.
Exquisite and luxurious Haute Couture fashion
All details on the costume are handmade by hand, do not use machines to ensure perfection and uniqueness. Material used must be high-class and rare goods. Workers are highly skilled, standard factories. The clothes are tailor-made, custom made, not ready-to-wear clothes.
Haute Couture is not just a measure of industry, talent and creativity of designers. It also challenges the skills and techniques of workers and artisans. And Haute Couture is a cultural heritage, an eternal guideline for generations in fashion history.
Development history
Around the 18th century, designer Rose Bertin – who had a great influence on French fashion. She was a designer, tailor made and she also made hats for Queen Antoinette. She used her power to control the French designers of the time. Rose Bertin forced couture makers to create unique outfits to cater to women attending the party without duplication. At that time, trademark and copyright issues were not as concerned and focused as they are now.
By the 19th century, everything had changed completely. A British designer named Charles Worth pioneered his name in clothing. Besides, he made the costumes based on his own ideas and then let the models wear to sell to customers. Buying or not is up to the customers. This has created a turning point in the French fashion village. If Rose Bertin was credited with laying the foundation for the Haute Couture manufacturing industry, Charles Worth would be the real father of this luxury outfit.
Since then, the term “Haute Couture” appeared to describe the “works” of fashion design. The symbol of elegance, separation and fashion created by tailor artisans created specifically for the upper classes, stars and royal members. More than a century after the luxury industry was born in Paris, the fashion industry has also gone through many things to change itself. Up to now, the uniqueness of the designs is still emphasized in Haute Couture dresses. And they must follow the strict laws of the new industry.
Haute Couture outfits are still reserved for the upper class and aristocracy today. Because the value of a dress design is extremely large, it is therefore not widely available but only known among the wealthy.
How to be recognized as Haute Couture?
Not just tailor-made, designed, handmade by yourself is becoming Haute Couture. It has a specific measure for a world of luxury, the most luxurious in today’s fashion world. After Worth’s success and influence on Paris fashion, this “exclusive” fashion empire needs reasonable rules for similar designs to be recognized. Accordingly, in 1868, Le Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture (High-class tailor union) was founded as a guardian of high fashion. Designers who want to be recognized as a Haute Couture artisan must meet certain standards that came out later in 1945. By 1908, the phrase “Haute Couture” was first used officially.
In 1945, a standard set of Le Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture was established. Therefore, in order to recognize as Haute Couture, fashion houses must meet the following 3 requirements:
- Design according to specialized orders
- There is a sewing factory in Paris with at least 20 skilled artisans
- In each fashion season (January and July), fashion houses must show a collection with at least 35 designs for the day and night.
Haute Couture Fashion Week where designers present their work
Material
Capital is the lavish, sophisticated costumes, so the materials used must be unique and precious materials. Haute Couture design is made by the finest materials from the smallest details: high-class silk fabric, rare cashmere fabric, the best leather, fur, even the attached beads must be imported. Imports from typical leading manufacturers are Swarovski. Or some materials such as Lema fur, Lesage embroidery, Massaro fabric for shoes and Causse for gloves … The better the material, the more exclusive and precious the outfit will be noticed.
The value of Haute Couture designs?
A Haute Couture set needs at least 20 people to complete in less than 700 hours and costs many times more than regular garments. We all know Haute Couture embodies luxury and class. For a day-wear Haute Couture, the price will be around £ 8,000. Meanwhile, night wear will be more expensive. If fashion houses use rare fabrics and decorations made of precious materials, the price of Haute Couture may be raised to several million pounds.
Because the value of these designs is so great, it is only for certain customers. The number of customers is small – about 2,000 individuals worldwide, but Haute Couture has always been an invaluable affirmation for a class. An aesthetic style orientation in the constantly changing fashion industry of the world today.
Not only requires sophistication, meticulous and meticulous in the production process with tens of thousands of details are manually attached, each of these works of art is an affirmation of the ego of its creator and wearer.
Who will buy Haute Couture?
Haute Couture is luxurious and classy, so who will be the buyers of these outfits?
Haute Couture was born and known in France. So far, the French upper class is the main customer of the Haute Couture design.
In addition to the upper class in France, Haute Couture now has buyers (who buy luxury goods to resell) from Russia, China and the Middle East. The selling price of the models can be increased after many years so they will get a great deal from the hands of Haute Couture collectors.
Currently there are not many Haute Couture designers, as of 2015 the Haute Couture members are only 12 members. These include Chanel, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Maurizio Galante, Atelier Gustavolins, Bouchra Jarrar, Alexis Mabille, Alexandre Vauthier, Frank Sorbier, Jean Paul Gaultier, Stéphane Rolland, Adeline André. Due to the advent of handy, tailored and multi-layered clothing. As well as the strict rules of Haute Couture, the number of designers has decreased significantly.
A design of the brand ELIE SAAB
Very few people can spend big amount of money to buy Haute Couture clothes and for long-time fashion brands, the collection is like a way for people to recognize their talents, such as brands. Viktor & Rolf launch unique designs that uphold the spirit of art and life in each season. However, if in the future the world of grave cessation of understanding and acknowledging about Haute Couture, these wonderful things will quickly be forgotten.
But in order for that not to happen and to make high fashion exist in the 21st century, Couture must learn to change to fit the times, get closer to modern fashion followers like Vetements did before.
Officially certified brand of Couture fashion house in the past two seasons. It was the breakthroughs in the traditional definition of high fashion art that made the association accept and loosen its rigid rules.
Haute Couture is a cultural heritage of the fashion village, it is preserved and preserved until now. Hopefully, Haute Couture will always exist and access more fashion followers.