Haute Couture Clients

[adorefaith]

thanks very much for the articles mullet
. . it answered a lot of the questions i had !

 

[knightley]

Meg, you are quite right.

It takes a little finesse if it is your first time buying, but it is not hard to arrange for a fitting and for a purchase. However, a single dress from a single line will not get you into the house. To be a front row attendee, or to get an invite to the next season, you typically need to have purchased quite a few dresses, showcasing your buying potential, or have a very well known client as a friend who drops your name, but it is quite easy, if you've the money, to get your first piece.

(Well, as mentioned: as long as you have referral!)

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | polyglot

New Money vs. Old Money & Then Came the Lean Times

On July 1970, at the age of 66, Diana Vreeland flew to Paris for the couture collections. It would be her last time attending the shows as Vogue’s Editor in Chief. Although she had attended the collections for over five decades she was still enthralled by the overall spectacle of the shows and the excitement of being in Paris. In her memoirs she captures the atmosphere of those final shows which she described as “an international and cosmopolitan bazaar”. “To go into a great French fashion house with its high ceilinged room, filled with massed flowers and ferns is always an event of refreshment and excitement….There are dashing personalities of every nationality, rich merchant’s wives from Beirut and Kuwait, jewelers and diamond merchants, and the great fabric makers of Switzerland and Italy, France and England.”

As Vreeland alluded to in her memoirs, by the late 1960's and early 70’s the couture houses were receiving a welcome infusion of new customers from the Middle East and - more important - new money. Though the couture houses during this period kept such matters as shopping lists and expenses to themselves, numerous stories of lavish spending began to circulate in the press: A Saudi oil sheikh buying the same dress for his eight wives; Kuwaiti princesses ordering ball gowns by the truckload.

But by the end of the Eighties the Middle Eastern clients had become part of the couture establishment, subsequently passing their taste for haute couture along to their daughters and granddaughters.

But this sizable Middle Eastern clientele also sheds light on how venerable the industry is to any political and economic upheavals which may affect the region. This was no more apparent than at the start of 1990s, when war broke out in the Gulf after 15 years of civil war in Lebanon. The Gulf War was a catastrophe for the top end of the industry, hitting it almost as hard as the 1929 depression. According to Francois Lesage, the 77-year-old head of Paris' top embroidery house, "Haute couture was asleep. It was totally oriented around the Arab princesses. The more petrol prices went up, the more the princesses bought dresses," Lesage said at the time. "But there are fewer princesses now because of the climate with the Iraq war, the war in Lebanon and problems with Israel. It's not how it used to be." The princesses were by far the biggest buyers of haute couture during this period and there were hundreds of them.

American clients may be prominent in the front row, Deeda Blair and the Texan socialite Lynn Wyatt amongst them, but they are seldom the high rollers. Ivana Trump was feted at the couture shows last July, yet no Paris fashion house claims that she bought a single outfit. But looking carefully at Dior's client lists may tell a different story. Saudi Arabia alone provides 32 percent of Dior's clients; 18 percent come from the United States, and only 10 percent or fewer from other countries.

Yet despite the existence of a sizable Middle Eastern clientele, looking around the audience attending the Dior shows today, one would be hard pressed to find a single Arab client amongst the crowds of celebrities and journalists who generate an incredible amount of publicity for the couture houses. Out of necessity, couture has had to find other ways to sustain itself when very few can afford its otherworldly clothes. The clients who pay retail (from Kuwaiti brides-to-be to fashion-conscious socialites) don't give the brands much exposure. Furthermore these creations are meant to be seen in order to spread the houses image, which is why stars are frequently invited to the Paris shows, where they are loaned dresses.

As a result of heightened publicity at the shows, many of the regular customers from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region have opted out of attending the presentations altogether, even though the couture houses send them invitations each season. Instead clients are sent dvds of the shows or allowed access to special websites, where they can view the collections in the privacy of their own homes.

Armani, who shows his Armani Privé couture line in Paris, has expressed displeasure with the current big show format since most of his clients do not wish to be photographed or have their dresses displayed on the front pages of newspapers the next day. For this reason he stages two shows, one for journalists and another exclusively for 200 of his clients. It is a trend seen at most of the couture houses, where Middle Eastern clients now view the collections at private showings from the intimacy of the couture salon. For customers it is the only way they can appreciate the craftsmanship that has gone into the making of each garment. Up until 2006, when Stéphane Roland designed for Jean Louis Scherrer, the house (which was one of the few profit making couture establishments), had also pulled out from staging big shows in favor of more intimate presentations for its large number of Arab customers.

 

[knightley]

However, hasn't Julianne Moore talked about collecting couture? Does anyone know how she came upon membership?

I know it's typically done through a friend who is already a client, but can designers extend invitation to the federation? I've always been a little unclear about that. Not that I can afford couture, but it's an art I support whole-heartedly.

 

[baddabling]

im sure this has been posted many, many times in the past but it gives alot of insight into what goes on behind the scenes:

"The Secret World of Haute Couture" BBC, 2007
(part 1 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih6SITik-40

source: youtube

 

[LUXXX]

there is a whole process...
in order to even have access to the opportunity to go to the shows, let alone buy them, you must be approved by the Federation Francaise de la Couture. Like Meg has said, in order to get in you need to be invited by an existing member or inherit membership from a deceased member.

wow, thanks for answering...it's amazing they buy it. I know celebs just get them on loan for events...but it must be amazing to be invited in if you can afford.

Although it seems like a lot more noveau riche Russians and Saudis are making it in now...so perhaps since business was down not too long ago the rules aren't so strict anymore? I remember a point when there was barely any couture shows happening a few years back......people were blaming bad business...

 

[baddabling]

LUXXX, you have a good point. just the sheer cost of creating these dresses, plus hosting the shows, costs the Houses thousands. And they are betting on all of the creations to be sold. No wonder they are becoming much more pedestrian (well, for HC )

 

[ysljunkie]

All I know is these ladies better buy ! buy plenty

 

[UNiQFashionista]

im just laughing at when they said "saudi oil sheikh buying 8 dresses for 8 wives"..i ahte when the write sh*t like that, first, the term sheikh doesnt really exist in saudi, maybe other gulf countries, 2nd, there is not one saudi man who has 8 wives- thats just not true and ridiculous..- and men never buy their wives dresses anyway... all women i know who buy HC are powerfull independant women in saudi arabia- who pay for the dresses themselves...
anyway, i know that alot of women from saudi who buy HC never attend shows- they get CDs and a look books- and sometimes private viewings- but they still insist on sending gorgeous invites~!!

 

[ysljunkie]

Great article too. I now completly get why the the ladies of the Middle east dont wan to go to the big shows.

 

[UNiQFashionista]

a big issue for us from the ME is that we dont want our pictures taken-
even I, whenever I go to anyshow, esp if im sitting front row, I have to make sure that photogs dont take any pics...its a cultural thing!

 

[adorefaith]

thanks very much for the articles mullet
. . it answered a lot of the questions i had !

. . i'm sorry MMA . . of course i meant to write MMA and not mullet
my apologies !

UNIQ . . men never buy their wives dresses ?
do you mean the men aren't the ones there choosing the outfits, or that the women aren't using their money ? i can't imagine that in all cases the women are using their 'own' money (and i use that term for lack of a better one)

 

[Spiral1532]

But despite the growing number of clients at several of the couture houses, it is widely believed that the couture label with the most customers is neither Chanel, Valentino, or Dior for that matter, but the lesser-known Lebanese designer Elie Saab, whose front row is usually packed with glamorous Saudi princesses.

*finger snap*

 

[LUXXX]

im just laughing at when they said "saudi oil sheikh buying 8 dresses for 8 wives"..i ahte when the write sh*t like that, first, the term sheikh doesnt really exist in saudi, maybe other gulf countries, 2nd, there is not one saudi man who has 8 wives- thats just not true and ridiculous..- and men never buy their wives dresses anyway... all women i know who buy HC are powerfull independant women in saudi arabia- who pay for the dresses themselves...
anyway, i know that alot of women from saudi who buy HC never attend shows- they get CDs and a look books- and sometimes private viewings- but they still insist on sending gorgeous invites~!!

That's interesting...

It seems like Russian women are really on the come up in this arena. I've been reading a lot more articles on their spending habits and how Moscow has become such a hot destination for designers to open stores. It's pretty fascinating to see the rise of these women, although most seem to be moving to London.

 

[eternitygoddess]

^Wait............you have to get 'approval' to buy them? Jeez, and we think couture is a 'dying' industry.

17-year-old daughter of a Russian millionaire - ordered seven bespoke Dior outfits.

Lucky girl.

How rich are these people? I've never seen the world's wealthiest (Ex: Bill Gates's wife) buying couture.

I hope the customers have the decency to treat these outfits properly.

 

[SomethingElse]

there is also something so tongue wagging about a man/husband crying after receiving his credit card statement.

 

[Uchina]

Hey, don't judge! I think you guys are just jealous. It's not like they're spending money on something silly like diamond encrusted toilets. This is the "Art" of the fashion world, so to speak, and these are the patrons.

 

[UNiQFashionista]

adore- I mean in arab culture- fashion is left to women- either they buy it from the money they earned "for the working women" or their husband's money, fashion, couture or not, in the middle east, is left to the women, men buy jewelery- but fashion, even if its $100,000 dress- is left to the females.

Its true about elie saab, I really dont consider him HC- I myself have had a dress made for me by him- and the quality is horrible- the only reason i picked him was because i couldnt find anything i like din RTW, and his prices are rather cheap (for HC)- but I think he's a horrible designer and his materials look good- but they are cheap- so alot of people can afford him- and most of his designs are tacky- and we have alot of tacky people in the middle east- alot.

anyway, I remember talking to someone who works for valentino saying- the russians are the new arabs!

 

[ettebe]

If a list of the HC clients got out, many people would probably lose their head. Best bet is, anyone that comes from a family of billionaires, royals and what not would probably be on the list.

 

[MissMagAddict]

I've never seen the world's wealthiest (Ex: Bill Gates's wife) buying couture.

Melinda Gate's wouldn't buy or wear couture...it's just not her style at all & I don't mean that as a slap...it's just not what's she's about...She's very understated in her style & attitude.