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THE GRAND FRENCH HAUTE COUTURE HOUSES
The Ultimate Indulgence
for Today's Luxury Woman
| These days
the international fashion society jet sets between New York, London,
Milan and Paris. Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta, Vivienne Westwood,
Valentino, Versace, Chanel, Dior and the like have created temples of
fashion and luxury. Elegant-Lifestyle wanted to find it out once and for
ever: What is the ultimate indulgence for the pampered luxury woman of
today, the wife of an important husband, the international film star,
the princess or those celebrities who want to be ahead of tomorrow's
fashion trends? There is only one answer: Haute Couture. Full stop.
'Haute Couture' is the
French word for the highest, most exclusive work a big fashion house
produces. However, not every fashion house also creates haute couture.
It is basically an outfit created by one of the big designers such as
Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, John Galliano for Dior or Yves Saint
Laurent/Tom Ford for Yves St Laurent specifically for you - or let's say
nearly. Most haute couture (French for ' high tailoring') houses only
produce 1,500 dresses or so a year. |
© Chanel Haute Couture
Autumn-Winter 2000/1
© Photo by Karl Lagerfeld
|
Also, haute couture dresses
and outfits are hand-made and made to the measures of the client. Not only
do women wearing haute couture look like the outfit has been made on them,
some couturiers like the legendary Balenciaga (1895-1972) were and are able
to improve the figure of their clients through their magic art of tailoring.
Having an Haute Couture
dress specifically made for you ensures that the outfit you are wearing is
absolutely unique. It also has the advantage that you normally avoid seeing
anybody else in the same dress. Haute Couture is the elevated art form of
international fashion design. With Haute Couture a creator's vision, such as
Christian Lacroix or Jean Paul Gaultier for example, can be rendered to the
specific demands and shape of the client. Needless to say that this alone
can be a tremendous feel-good factor - quite apart from the fact that going
for an Haute Couture outfit often presents a chance to meet the designer in
person. Being an Haute Couture client usually also means that you receive an
invitation to the fashion show that takes place twice a year (January and
July) in Paris. The Haute Couture fashion shows for the Spring/Summer 2001
collection have just been in Paris during the week 20-24 January.
| Paris - The
Epicenter of Haute Couture |
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| Ever since
the extravagances of the court of Louis XIV (1638-1715), French fashion
trends have been closely monitored by the rest of Europe. Later on in
the 18th century Rose Bertin, who was Minister of Fashion to Marie
Antoinette (1755-1793), was the first celebrated French fashion
designer. From then on dresses from Paris went to London, Venice,
Vienna, St. Petersburg and Constantinople (today's Istanbul). The
inimitable Parisian elegance established the reputation of French
couture throughout the world. Haute Couture as we now know it these days
originated in the 19th century. It was Charles Frederick Worth, the
Father of Haute Couture, who can be called the first modern couturier.
When he founded his couture house in 1858 he introduced some important
innovations such as showing his dresses on live models, which pleased
his clients such as the Empress Eugénie of France (wife of last French
Emperor Napoléon III who reigned from 1852-1870) and the Princess
Metternich (wife of Austrian diplomat Metternich) immensely.
However, Worth not only
launched the first - though be it private - fashion show. He and his
sons founded the 'Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne' in 1868,
which is the Association of Haute Couture Houses, which specified what
kind of criteria a fashion designer needs to fulfill in order to call
himself a 'couturier'. These days the term 'Haute Couture' is a term
that is regulated by the French government and is still governed by a
number of precise criteria. Only |
© Jean Paul Gaultier Haute
Couture Autumn-Winter 2000/1
© Photo by Patrice Stable
|
an exclusive circle of haute
couture houses is allowed to make use of this label. Every year the eligible
haute couture houses are determined by a commission (the 'Chambre Syndicale
de la Haute Couture') that meets at the Ministry of Industry.
In order to qualify for the
distinction of 'haute couture', established couturiers are required to make
the designs at their own premises with a staff of at least 20. In addition,
they have to present their collections consisting of at least 50 garments to
the press in Paris twice a year. Furthermore, the haute couture collection
has to consist of day as well as evening wear and has to be shown on a
minimum of three models. The collection must also be shown in-house in
dedicated salons. Needless to say that the fulfillment of all these criteria
contributes to making haute couture a highly prestigious and exquisite
affair and that the outfits are made for a very exclusive clientele.
| Why is
Haute Couture so special? |
|
|
© Christian Lacroix Haute
Couture Autumn-Winter 2001/2
© Photo by Guy Marineau
|
So who are the
customers that go for Haute Couture? Well, the couture houses are
generally quite cagey about who their current clients are. Fair enough.
However, most haute couture houses were willing to give
Elegant-Lifestyle a glimpse into their list of past clients. There are
the unforgettable actors of the era of glamorous cinema: Marlene
Dietrich, Audrey Hepburn, Romy Schneider, Greta Garbo, Katherine
Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Liz Taylor. Then there are the crowned
heads of Europe and of the world such as Princess Grace of Monaco, the
Queens of Belgium, Denmark, Spain and Thailand, the Empress of Persia,
Arabian Princesses - the list is endless. However, also rock stars such
as Madonna or Jennifer Lopez, women from big industrial and banking
empires such as the Onassis', the Gettys, the Thyssens and the
Rothschild's of this world are to be found.
Elegant-Lifestyle has
come to the conclusion that if you are or want to feel like a VIP,
opting for an haute couture outfit is the way to go. But haute couture
goes further than that - female Wall Street bankers, women managing or
owning large enterprises, lady politicians and wives of wealthy
entrepreneurs all have one thing in common - they need to represent,
look elegant and feel good. It is all about that feel-good factor when
you walk around in a made-to-measure outfit that has been created for
you by somebody like Oscar de la Renta, who is artistic director for
the |
House of Balmain. So is it
all about feeling like - and paying - a million dollars? Luckily not!
There are only a few
thousand women world-wide buying haute couture today. Although being worth
the money it is of course expensive. Laurence Benaim wrote in issue No. 23
of 'France Diplomatie' (the magazine of the French Foreign Ministry) that
the price for an haute couture model dress can range from 16,000 - 20,000
USD. Made-to-measure a grand evening dress can cost up to 60,000 USD;
sometimes even more. Putting a price tag on haute couture fashion is
obviously difficult as prices vary between the different couturiers, vary
from outfit to outfit, the type of material and vary according to the amount
of work that goes into making it for you. However, before you think of
buying your second, third or fourth car why not go for an haute couture
dress with style and enjoy all the VIP treatment in Paris that goes with it?
| Haute Couture in
Practice |
|
| Extensive work goes
into the creation of an haute couture garment. About 100-150 hours of
manual work go into the making of a day outfit such as a suit. Evening
dresses with embroidery can require several 1000 hours of work. The
process is the creation of a work of art - specifically for you. With
Chanel for example, couturier Karl Lagerfeld starts with a sketch. Then
each design is first sewn entirely in a canvas 'toile' before the real
dress is made. After the fashion show, designs are entirely
made-to-measure for clients with a minimum of two fittings. For regular
customers Chanel keeps their own tailor's dummy, which is made to the
customer's measurements.
For today's luxury
woman, there are many reasons to go for the ultimate fashion indulgence.
There are those big special occasions in life such as an engagement,
your wedding, a christening, a special birthday, rewarding oneself for
managing a special achievement, the payment of a good annual bonus, the
opening night of a grand evening at the opera, attending a big ball, an
important invitation to the house of a governor, a president, a royal
family or a celebrity - any excuse will do. Ever thought of celebrating
your engagement in Ungaro, getting married in Christian Lacroix,
arriving at your son's |
© Jean Louis Scherrer
Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 2000/1
© Photo by Bruno Pellerin
|
or daughter's wedding in
Dior, signing a big business deal in one of Yves Saint Laurent's famous
suits or arriving at an important social event in that classic Chanel
costume? If not, this is the time to have a think about it.
A note of advice - the
couture houses cater to an international clientele and as a consequence, the
couture model dresses are often being presented outside of Paris. It is
therefore essential to make an appointment prior to your visit to Paris so
that the respective couture house can ensure that all model dresses are in
the country and ready for you to see. If you would like to have a preview,
most couture houses will send you a video prior to your coming to Paris
featuring the various couture models. A more modern alternative is to view
the haute couture collections online (where available).
Overview over Today's
Grand French Haute Couture Houses
The Duchess of Windsor,
alias Mrs. Wallis Simpson, had her wedding dress made by French couturier
Mainbocher when marrying King Edward VIII in 1937. The House of Lanvin made
the wedding dress for the Spanish Princess of Alcantara. Queen Fabiola of
Belgium's wedding dress was made by Balenciaga in 1960. Many big names of
the past such as Mainbocher (which was taken over by Balenciaga), Paul
Poiret, Madeleine Vionnet, Robert Piguet, Elsa Schiaparelli and the like
don't exist anymore. Others such as Balenciaga, Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne,
Ted Lapidus and Thierry Mugler have abandoned Haute Couture. Since 1994,
Pierre Cardin has chosen not to present his couture models publicly, but
only to a small group of private clients. The fashion world is in constant
change but other world famous houses such as Chanel, Dior, Givenchy and Yves
Saint Laurent offer their clients haute couture now and today. Newer houses
such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix have also joined the show.
Elegant-Lifestyle presents the full list of the grand French Haute Couture
Houses of the present (the listing is by when the Haute Couture Houses were
founded):
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