Question From A (somewhat) Fashion Newbie

[mishahoi]

i just have a Q about haute couture since its a realm i am far from being able to tread. each piece is original so that means there's really only *one* right? how do they sell the pieces? is it first come first serve? what if two people want the same piece? do privileged people get previews before the show and get to choose what they want first?

haute couture is still a mystery to me...i also cant figure out what constitutes "haute couture" when some haute couture looks like something that might be put on a pret a porter show. thanks guys~

 

[metal-on-metal]

The HC shows revolve on a different schedule than menswear or RTW shows. The spring couture always shows in late January, the fall couture in July. After the shows, all the clients are invited to each house's respective salon where orders are placed and measurements are taken. Each piece is not exclusive and many women can order the same one. It is tailor-made after all, so as long as there is enough fine wool crepe to go around, Deeda Blair and Nan Kempner can both have the same Chanel pantsuit. I'm sure clients of that caliber do receive a bit of a preview but I'm not that familiar with the inner workings of couture sales. Another poster on these boards, chanel_girl, has a husband working at Christian Dior in Paris and I'm sure she'd be able to shed more light on the very specifics for you.

 

[softgrey]

i don't think it's so much a 'preview' as a 're-see' which is scheduled after the show...i don't think most of the samples are ready until the very last minute...

 

[chanel_girl]

Well it goes like this after the show, if the clients are in attendance that is they are invited to the couture salon to have a closer look and to ask any questions that they may have about the pieces and if they have something special in mind [Extra decoration,adjustments etc] it can certainly be discussed and usualy the ordering happens a few months after the shows or in some cases 1 hour after depending on who's buying that is and each piece is unique and more than one is produced if there is demand for it like I bought a jacket and a dress from the Dior SS '04 collection and somebody else got it as well so there can certainly be more than 1 made

 

[MulletProof]

thanks Chanel_Girl and Chickonspeed, I had the same doubts and I suspected HC would work that way but I was unsure

 

[Atelier]

You may also want to know that the Paris-based Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture (a branch of the Fédération Française de la Couture, du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode) sets the rules for what is "haute couture" and who takes part in the January and July shows.

There are designers all over the world that make and present made-to-measure clothes. Whether it's not as good, as good or better, technically it's only "haute couture" if the designer is a member of the Chambre or an invitee as a correspondent or guest.

Here is a list of members and more information about the organization is found throughout the website.

 

[mishahoi]

Originally posted by Atelier@Aug 4 2004, 02:25 PM
You may also want to know that the Paris-based Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture (a branch of the Fédération Française de la Couture, du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode) sets the rules for what is "haute couture" and who takes part in the January and July shows.

There are designers all over the world that make and present made-to-measure clothes. Whether it's not as good, as good or better, technically it's only "haute couture" if the designer is a member of the Chambre or an invitee as a correspondent or guest.

Here is a list of members and more information about the organization is found throughout the website.

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wow, thanks guys for shedding the light on HC. i really thought that only one of each piece was made. and what atelier said above is REALLY interesting. just when you think fashion couldnt get any more exclusive...

 

[TheSweetest]

thank you so much @ mishahoi. i was puzzled about haute couture, but i just didn't know what to ask. i do have an extra question for anyone who knows:

Do individuals who work at an atelier sit down at a sewing machine and make eace haute couture piece and then sew on the embellishments?

AND

Is a regular Valentino suit made in a factory and haute couture in a private shop?

(i'm so confused)

 

[Incroyable]

Originally posted by TheSweetest@Aug 5 2004, 01:49 AM
thank you so much @ mishahoi. i was puzzled about haute couture, but i just didn't know what to ask. i do have an extra question for anyone who knows:

Do individuals who work at an atelier sit down at a sewing machine and make eace haute couture piece and then sew on the embellishments?

AND

Is a regular Valentino suit made in a factory and haute couture in a private shop?

(i'm so confused)

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Haute Couture items are made in an atelier situated usually at the flagship shop such as Chanel's Rue Cambon or Dior's Ave.Montaigne. The individual items such as the embroidery is usually if not all contracted from the company Lesage. Corsets probably from a certain Mr.Pearl. They are ordered by a custom design, and then shipped to the workshop where they are put together by skilled seamstresses under the eye of a director who is under the command of the head designer.

A regular Valentino suit, depending on what line, is made at a contracted factory such as Alias. Where many other designers go. Alias actually makes things for Versace Couture.

 

[Incroyable]

Also before the full fledged fashions shows a la Dior become ubiquitous couture shows were reserved by invitation where models were presented in various designs to a select group of clients, photographers.

A very intimate affair which in recent years some ateliers have embraced such as Revillon, and Versace.

 

[j´adore dior]

i think that although they can make several copies of one couture design what couture houses try to assure to their costumers is the fact that they wont find another woman wearing the same dress on a certain party, i think that´s the reasson they always say is a dress you wear once, there for they probably have a list or something, plus is a very small circle of people, so is not like they cannot control it i guess... i once heared valentino say that in the past, when they used to do only couture, woman used to run backstage after the show to pick the dresses first, and one of the rules the chambre haves is that foreign designers that make couture can make their collections on their respective cities but have to finish them on paris like valentino works in Rome and donatella in Milan but the final days bring their people to paris for the finishing touches... i also heared they used to be very strict and that they even comanded a minimum amount of space for the presentation of a couture collection but due to the fact that everytime less designers make couture collections beacuse the fact of presenting them can get very expensive because of those small details they have softened up.

 

[fashionistasista]

hmmm just ridin on this wave - what is 'resort'? is it supposed to be what one wears to a resort? or just for those in more relaxed situations ?? sorry mishahoi for steering it away

 

[Constance]

You may also want to know that the Paris-based Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture (a branch of the Fédération Française de la Couture, du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode) sets the rules for what is "haute couture" and who takes part in the January and July shows.

There are designers all over the world that make and present made-to-measure clothes. Whether it's not as good, as good or better, technically it's only "haute couture" if the designer is a member of the Chambre or an invitee as a correspondent or guest.

Here is a list of members and more information about the organization is found throughout the website.

just to clarify: Renee Zellwegger's Carolina Herrera gowns for the Oscars are custom made for her. However, since Mrs. Herrera is not part of "the list," then, those gowns cannot be considered Haute Couture?

This is a such a good thread. It can get confusing, but it's very educational

 

[fashionista-ta]

i think that although they can make several copies of one couture design what couture houses try to assure to their costumers is the fact that they wont find another woman wearing the same dress on a certain party, i think that´s the reasson they always say is a dress you wear once, there for they probably have a list or something, plus is a very small circle of people, so is not like they cannot control it i guess... i once heared valentino say that in the past, when they used to do only couture, woman used to run backstage after the show to pick the dresses first, and one of the rules the chambre haves is that foreign designers that make couture can make their collections on their respective cities but have to finish them on paris like valentino works in Rome and donatella in Milan but the final days bring their people to paris for the finishing touches... i also heared they used to be very strict and that they even comanded a minimum amount of space for the presentation of a couture collection but due to the fact that everytime less designers make couture collections beacuse the fact of presenting them can get very expensive because of those small details they have softened up.

I was gonna mention this first point as well ... this practice is by no means limited to haute couture, but sometimes a woman will have an agreement with a designer that hers will be the only dress of that design that is sent to, say, LA. This kind of thing also happens with RTW, also with a focus as j'adore mentions of not going to a high-profile party and seeing another woman in your gown.

 

[yourbestfriend]

just to clarify: Renee Zellwegger's Carolina Herrera gowns for the Oscars are custom made for her. However, since Mrs. Herrera is not part of "the list," then, those gowns cannot be considered Haute Couture?

This is a such a good thread. It can get confusing, but it's very educational

Even if Carolina Herrera was in the board, the gown still woudlnt be haute couture. Couture uses completely different grade of fabrics and sewing techniques that are usually done by hand. Renee's dress is jsut custom made, but thats just like going to a tailor and having a dress made, dosent make it couture.

 

[1karabo]

help

Hi everyone

I am trying to learn about fasihon. Everything about fashion, from hemlines to cut ect. I am looking to find a website that would be helpful in this regards any recommendations?

 

[mishahoi]

whoah! why did this get dug up again?! i feel like I have learned soooo much in this year and a half... i mean, i didn't know hardly a thing about designer fashion back then and now i can run off designers and their signature styles as well as models' names, photographers, stylists, hair and makeup artists, editors, etc....for the most part in thanks to TFS... thanks, guys, love ya! (sorry for the OT post)

 

[manolocraver]

Usually haute couture pieces are one-off and they made it only when there's a demand from a notable customer. Some brands like Dior would even send its rep to where the customer lives, take her body measurement, show the sketch, and once everything goes well, the seamstresses will work on it for a few weeks or maybe months since they are handmade by "petite mains".