Haute couture
The pinnacle of custom-fitted, high-end fashion design, originating in Paris.
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Haute couture is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design. The term originally referred to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress, distinguishing it from the skirt and sleeves. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became the centre of a growing industry focused on making outfits from high-quality, expensive, and often unusual fabric, sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable of sewers using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques. The English term was borrowed from French, where it literally means "high sewing" or "high dressmaking," with its first recorded use in English occurring in 1908.
History
The term is protected by French law and defined by the Paris Chamber of Commerce, with the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode acting as the regulating commission that determines which fashion houses qualify. The Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, an association of Parisian couturiers founded in 1868 as an outgrowth of medieval guilds, regulates members regarding counterfeiting, collection opening dates, number of models presented, press relations, legal and tax matters, and promotional activities.
Its formation was brought about by Charles Frederick Worth. In response to the Nazi occupation of Paris, more rigorous criteria were established in 1945. To use the label, a house must design made-to-order garments for private clients with fittings; maintain a Paris workshop employing at least fifteen full-time staff; employ at least twenty full-time technical people in at least one workshop; and present a collection of at least fifty original designs to the public twice yearly, in January and July, encompassing both day and evening wear.
History in France
The history of haute couture in France can be traced to the 17th century, when guild statutes protected industry and consumption. Women dressmakers, known as couturières, gained guild privileges in 1675, acquiring rights to make clothing for women and children, while male tailors retained rights for men and boys over eight. Their work ranged from mending to creating fine dresses from luxurious fabric for royalty and aristocracy.
Lore & Background
The English term haute couture was borrowed from French, where it literally means 'high sewing' or 'high dressmaking'. Its first recorded use in English was in 1908, in the Arnold Bennett novel The Old Wives' Tale. The term haute couture is protected by French law and defined by the Paris Chamber of Commerce. The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode is defined as 'the regulating commission that determines which fashion houses are eligible to be true haute couture houses'.
Their rules state that only 'those companies mentioned on the list drawn up each year by a commission domiciled at the Ministry for Industry are entitled to avail themselves' of the label haute couture. The Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne is an association of Parisian couturiers founded in 1868 as an outgrowth of medieval guilds that regulate its members with regard to counterfeiting of styles, dates of openings for collections, number of models presented, relations with press, questions of law and taxes, and promotional activities. Formation of the organisation was brought about by Charles Frederick Worth. An affiliated school was organized in 1930 called L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture.
The school helps bring new designers to help the 'couture' houses that are still present today. Since 1975, it has operated within the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. In response to the Nazi occupation of Paris, more rigorous criteria for the term haute couture were established in 1945. To earn the right to call itself a couture house and to use the term haute couture in its advertising and any other way, members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture must follow specific rules: design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings; have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen staff members full-time; have at least 20 full-time technical people, in at least one workshop (atelier); and present a collection of at least 50 original designs to the public every fashion season (twice, in January and July of each year), of both day and evening garments.
Reader's Guide
The term is also used loosely to describe all high-fashion, custom-fitted clothing, whether it is produced in the fashion capitals of London, New York City, Paris, and Milan. In either case, the term can refer to the fashion houses or fashion designers that create exclusive and often trend-setting fashions or to the fashions created. The term haute couture has also taken on further popular meanings referring to non-dressmaking activities, such as production of fine art and music. Haute couture can be referenced back as early as the 17th century.
Industry and consumption were legally protected through guild statutes that required strict adherence to quality, quantity, etc. Women dressmakers, known as couturières, attained guild privileges in 1675. Their guild statutes made it so these women acquired the rights to make clothing for women and children, while male tailors retained the right to make clothing for men and boys over the age of 8.
Within this empire, the couturières' work ranged from simple mending to modes (fashions). They performed darning and alterations, in addition to making fine dresses of luxurious fabric for members of the royal family and aristocracy. Seamstresses were only one part of this process, which also included domestic manufacture, imported products, and work, as well as guilds such as the lacemakers, ribbonmakers, fashion merchants, embroiderers, pin and needle peddlers, etc. Seamstresses did not operate public shops, unlike tailors, but instead relied on word of mouth and connections to procure high-end clientele.
18th century France witnessed a dramatic rise in clothing consumption, and scholars have documented a 'clothing revolution' that occurred between 1700 and 1789. This was characterised by the increased size and value of wardrobes across the country, even among the middling and working classes. The fashion industry sprang to life to meet increasing demand.
Rose Bertin, the French fashion designer to Queen Marie Antoinette, can be credited for bringing fashion and haute couture to French culture. Visitors to Paris brought back clothing that was then copied by local dressmakers. Stylish women also ordered dresses in the latest Parisian fashion to serve as models. As railroads and steamships made European travel easier, it was increasingly common for wealthy women to travel to Paris to shop for clothing and accessories.
Did You Know?
- Charles Frederick Worth, born in England, is widely considered the father of haute couture as it is known today.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Haute couture (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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