Introduction to the Fashion World of Haute Couture
Fashion 365 (Part 1): UHC - Understanding Haute Couture (Log 1)
What does Haute & Couture mean?
The term haute couture generally refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, but that’s not what it means. Couture is French for dressmaking, while haute means high. So “high dressmaking”. These are garments created as one-off pieces for a specific client.
What makes a piece of couture?
Haute couture is the production of unique, handcrafted, high-end, custom-fitted clothing from start to finish. The focus here is on craftsmanship, and the attention to detail is simply mindboggling.
Brief Couture History:
Haute Couture started in France, but it was a concept born by an Englishman known as Charles Frederick Worth, who moved from London to Paris in 1845 and worked as a dress salesman. Worth’s legacy was the transformation of the clothing industry into what we might now call the fashion industry, and by sewing his name into each garment he produced, he was pioneering the concept of the fashion brand. By the 19th century, it had become a popular movement and by the 20th century, designers such as Jacques Doucet (founded in 1871), Rouff (founded 1884), Jeanne Paquin (founded in 1891), Madeleine Vionnet (founded in 1912), Elsa Schiaparelli (founded in 1927) continued to advance the movement and the world of haute couture. Today, we have some of the biggest 21st-century brands like Christian Dior, Jean-Paul Gautier, Schiaparelli, Ellie Saab, Valentino, Thom Browne and Zuhair Murad still championing the World of Haute Couture.
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Part 1: Understanding Haute Couture
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