'Spangled silk tulle was typical of Worth's work in the 1860s. For Empress Elizabeth of Austria he chose gold to be scattered over her gown. The dress's décolleté neckline, which exposes and embraces her shoulders, would be softened with tulle held lightly around her hips. The story of modern fashion began when Charles Frederick Worth, a young tailor, arrived at the court of Napoleon III. In his bid to re-estabilish Paris as the centre of fashionable life, the Emperor stimulated the luxury business and his wife Eugénie patronized it in fabulous style. Worth drew on the history of costume to create lavish, expensive gowns which raised dressmaking to a new level called haute couture.' (The Fashion Book)
Obviously he is the one who established the form of MODERN haute couture from a business perspective which had significant impacts on the development of the fashion industry.
pic from
http://www.artunframed.com/winterhalter.htm