Today marks the start of Haute Couture Week 2019! Exciting, right?
If that opening left you thinking, “and your point is . . . ,” not to worry. I get it – couture is hard to conceptualize on many fronts. I myself harbor some quality questions, including but not limited to: Do people actually wear that stuff? How does couture function economically? Who’s buying it? What counts as couture and what doesn’t? Why is some of it so ugly? Why is all of it so expensive? Isn’t it all a bit frivolous?
The world of couture is something I find fascinating, filled with incredible artistic expression, attention to detail, passion, innovation, and complex social and economic dynamics. Amid all the craziness of the fashion industry, couture is the designer’s playground – which is why, if you like fashion, it can be incredibly compelling.
What exactly is haute couture, anyways?
It is a designer’s secret LABORATORY, mwa hahahaha!!
Seriously, though – It literally means high sewing in French. It’s a very strict category of clothing design that must fall within specific parameters to be considered truly haute couture – so strict, in fact, that haute couture is a legal term. Thou shalt not call thyself haute couture unless you’ve been deemed so by the powers that be.
That means that – it’s heartbreaking to say – Juicy Couture is not actually haute couture. But at least your butt can still wear its juicy name tag. #2002, haha. They can *technically* call themselves couture because they aren’t using the whole, legally protected term haute couture. Yeah. They’re splitting hairs there, but they got away with it.
This also means that brand you would think are couture are, in fact, not. Gucci? Not on the list. Neither is Prada, Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent, nor Alexander McQueen. Those Balenciaga boots, the ones that look like socks, aren’t either. Harsh, right?
So what’s different about it?
The essence of haute couture is that a given designer makes one-of-a-kind pieces for specific clients, working in close conjunction with the client and with the technicians behind the scenes.
This differs even from prêt-a-porter collections, which are produced on a larger scale, can use machine labor, and are sold to distributors worldwide.
The designer is not answering to a large consumer base. They don’t even have to answer to their wealthy clients. Couture is where they can experiment, innovate, and create without worrying about whether or not a given design is marketable to the masses. As Christian Lacroix said, “haute couture should be fun, frivolous, and almost unwearable.” (I would argue that all three of those qualities are subjective, but whatevs).
They use very high quality materials, and the technicians – dressmakers – are people who spend their entire lives learning to create clothing. They usually spend their whole career under one label. Everything is done by hand. Imagine the attention to detail of a fine jeweler – every centimeter of these clothes is carefully constructed and designed. It is intense.
The Rules
Note: Regardless of the rules, you have to be be invited to join. This is not a “tick the boxes and you’re in” type of deal, and is definitely not something that’s for-the-people-by-the-people – something that my Californian, slightly socialist, hippie heart is not a fan of – but that same heart also loves art, I live within that balance. Anyhoo, let’s continue.
- You gotta show in Paris. None of that New York or Milan business. PARIS.
- You have to maintain an atelier in Paris. Duh – with a few exceptions, see below.
- Said atelier (workroom) must employ at least 15 full-time staff members and 20 full-time technicians.
- Garments must be made-to-order AND each client must have more than one fitting. So if you’re a client in Hong Kong, you have to fly yourself to Paris and get your dress fitted to you, at least twice.
- You must show at least 25 original designs twice a year (January and July) in Paris at Haute Couture Week. Hey, that’s now!
Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture
Say whaaaat? If you’re like me and don’t speak French, the words above look like a beautiful, classy mess.
But the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture is one branch of what is essentially a big, fancy, trade organization called The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode that regulates the fashion industry in France. They make the rules, and even bend them if they feel that a designer exhibits the zeitgeist of couture (how dare I invoke German to describe something so quintessentially French, haha).
There are a handful of “guest” designers each year who are recognized by the Chambre and invited to show at Haute Couture Week. They are allowed to use the term “couture,” but not haute couture (Juicy Couture actually – sort of – made it to the runway in 2016 under this loophole). In order to be considered a member, you must have been invited as a guest at least twice.
Remember Rule #2, the one that stated that Thou Must Work in Paris? The Chambre bends that rule at their discretion. They have a list of correspondent members who maintain ateliers abroad – Armani Privé, Elie Saab, Valentino, and Atelier Versace.
Who is buying these clothes?
In short, not a lot of people. Each garment can cost in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes over a million (for a wedding dress, for example).
Clothes are art, right? And going into GAP and buying trousers is like going into Pottery Barn and buying an art print. You are going to get something thoughtfully designed, mass produced, and workable in a wide range of lifestyles and budgets.
Haute Couture is like buying an original Picasso – these pieces will likely end up in a museum like the Met or Smithsonian.
So who can afford it? According to The New York Times Style Magazine, about 1,000 people. Worldwide. Yikes.
Designers must make BANK off of these collections, right?
Nope! The Haute Couture branch of a fashion house nowadays is lucky to break even. Maintaining an atelier with a full-time, well-paid staff, using expensive materials, and showing twice a year for pieces that may never find a buyer is pricey.
Have you noticed how Dior has become a huge name in the beauty industry? That’s because lipstick is way more affordable than couture. Dior’s beauty label, along with its prêt-a-porter lines, is supporting its atelier. This goes for most fashion houses. Crazy, no?
So Where’s the Value?
The question of whether or not haute couture is “worth it,” given that only 1,000 people on the planet can afford it and that it isn’t all that lucrative, is a good one. It’s good to question how we are using resources and how wealth is dispersed across our population.
From the practical, business perspective, haute couture is an excellent marketing tool. It gets press (I mean, I’m writing about it, haha) and spreads awareness of the brand and what it’s all about. People who would never buy these collections are still being exposed to them, and later associate the brand’s more affordable options with that haute couture image. I mean, one of my all time favorite perfumes is Dior Addict, and I never would have tried it had I not had an association between Dior and that sumptuous excitement of their couture shows.
There is also so much value in creating beauty in our world and in celebrating the human form, and in understanding how our minds perceive the body through time. There is a social history documented through all types of art. I ask myself if the value of a Warhol painting is diminished because not everyone can afford an original – of course not.
Art has intrinsic value that can be shared by any viewer. And that’s what prints are for – and in the case of fashion, designs from the haute couture lines can and do influence prêt-a-porter lines and other mass produced designs.
And as to how our resources are allocated, I can’t say how I’d spend my money were I uber-wealthy. I’d like to think that I’d weigh my options and do the most good for the world as possible – making political donations (to support my left wing agenda, duh), charitable donations, etc. But I wouldn’t blame someone for wanting to invest in art, either. I’d like to think there are enough resources to have all our needs met.
So there you have it – a rundown of haute couture, just in time for couture week. It’s a crazy world, right?
If you’re interested in couture week coverage, I’ll be posting recaps on my Instagram stories!
love,
Stig.
