the making of couture...

i spent the last three days at an aici (association of image consultants)conference...what a great educational conference! the classes were incredible...and i was able to meet some fabulous women and men...from other parts of the states as well as other countries...all with the same passion that i have in making my clients look their best...

every class ended with me walking away with so much information and tips/tools to use with my business...and more importantly with my clients...

i have to say...the one class that i truly could have sat for hours more to listen and learn from...was on the history of haute couture and its influence today...taught by melissa leventon, who is a professor at the california college of the arts in the fashion design and visual studies department...her master's degree from the university of london is in the history of art/history of dress...she has curated costume collections at museums around the world...

a few months back i posted on what is haute couture...i have to admit that the whole history of it...and even more...the making of it completely fascinates me...

and melissa had fabulous pictures... =)

i came across this clip in the making of chanel couture...sometimes comments and such are made in the pricing of garments...not necessarily couture...but even in just a good quality jacket...for example...often times...people do not realize the work behind the scenes that happen to make a quality piece of a garment...i have seen this same attitude in jewelry..in fact...wendy brandes wrote an exceptional blog post on get smart (about manufacturing) with several links to prior posts she did along the same lines...

you want good quality...you are going to need to spend a little more...

take a look at this fun clip...in the making of a chanel couture...how fascinating is that??

what is haute couture?

earlier this year...i got a chance to see the yves st laurent exhibit at the de young museum in san francisco...actually i went three times...yes...it was THAT spectacular...

the de young museum was fortunate to have the only u.s. showing of the yves st laurent retrospective...the exhibition featured nearly 130 of the designer's works from 1962 to 2002...

can you imagine?? nearly 130 outfits (complete with stunning accessories and shoes) were featured, many of which were haute couture worn by well-known icons, such as nan kempner and catherine deneuve...

an explanation of haute couture was featured as part of the exhibit - i found it informative and thought you might also...

In France, the term haute couture is protected by law and is defined by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris. 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 criteria for haute couture were established in 1945 and updated in 1992.

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 de commerce et d'industrie de Paris must follow these rules:

-Design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings.
-Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen people full-time.
-Each season (i.e., twice a year), present a collection to the Paris press, comprising at least thirty-five runs with outfits for both daytime wear and evening wear.

The term haute couture may have been misused by ready-to-wear brands since the late 1980s, so that its true meaning may have become blurred with that of prêt-à-porter (the French term for ready-to-wear fashion) in the public perception. Every haute couture house also markets prêt-à-porter collections, which typically deliver a higher return on investment than their custom clothing. In fact, much of the haute couture displayed at fashion shows today is rarely sold; it is created to enhance the prestige of the house. Falling revenues have forced a few couture houses to abandon their less profitable couture division and concentrate solely on the less prestigious prêt-à-porter.



Photo: Marina Schiano in Evening Gown. Fall-Winter 1970. © The Estate of Jeanloup Sieff