The Craftmanship of Haute Couture ... The details and how they do it.

The actual term 'haute couture' is protected by law and according to the Syndical Chamber for Haute Couture, "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 thereof".

The criteria to which a fashion house must adhere in order to be categorised haute couture were laid down in 1945 and updated in 1992.

These rules are simple, to be designated as haute couture a minimum of fifteen people must be employed at the workshops and must present to the press in Paris each season (spring/summer and autumn/winter) a collection of at least thirty-five runs consisting of models for daytime wear and evening wear.

At the time of writing, members of the Syndicate Chamber of Parisian Couture are as follows:


Adeline Andre : Emanuel Ungaro: : Chanel: : Christian Dior : Frank Sorbier :

Givenchy : Christian Lacroix : Dominique Sirop :

Jean Louis Scherrer : Jean Paul Gaultier :

In January 2005, seven more couture houses were invited to show there collections:

Elie Saab: On Aura Tout VU : Laurent Mercier :

Ralph Rucci :Marc Le Bihan : Ste Phane Saunier : Maurizio Galante :

from www.toffsworld.com
 
Haute couture behind the scenes

The art of perfection

In January and July, some 1,000 journalists from all over the world (2,000 for ready-to-wear) come to see the haute couture collections which, by tradition, are held in some of Paris's most prestigious hotels such as the Intercontinental, the Ritz, the Grand Hôtel and, from time to time, the new rooms at the Louvre Carrousel, which is the venue mainly for the prêt-à-porter shows. The atmosphere is always unique: the glitter of fabrics, the sumptuous accessories and the stage directions for each appearance affording each model the presence of a diva. In the first row, clients and celebrities take notes: Paloma Picasso for Christian Lacroix, Catherine Deneuve for Yves Saint Laurent, and, all around them, wealthy Americans (60% of the clientele) who have travelled to Paris to breathe the fresh air of perfection.

Haute couture implies precision in lines. "Haute couture consists of secrets whispered from generation to generation," says Yves Saint Laurent, who is careful to achieve a supreme balance in all his clothes, designed in the secrecy of the "studio". If, in ready-to-wear, a garment is manufactured according to standard sizes, the haute couture garment adapts to any imperfection in order to eliminate it (see box). Haute couture is the art of raising a collar, adjusting the sleeve of a suit or a plunging neckline, to hide a sloping shoulder or admirably emphasise a bustline One of the century's great French designers, Madeleine Vionnet, defined herself as "a physician of the figure". On average a dress will require three fittings.

There are eighteen houses of haute couture in France today: Balmain, Pierre Cardin, Carven, Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Féraud, Givenchy, Lecoanet Henant, Christian Lacroix, Lapidus, Guy Laroche, Hanae Mori, Paco Rabanne, Nina Ricci, Yves Saint Laurent, Jean-Louis Scherrer, Torrente, Emanuel Ungaro.

Haute couture employs 4,500 people (including 2,200 workshop seamstresses); there were some 35,000 of them prior to the Second World War. Haute couture is an important economic factor: in 1994, direct turnover from haute couture excluding tax amounted to five billion French francs (1 billion dollars), with exports accounting for 73%. Besides the made-to-measure business, which represents 6% of turnover, there is also luxury prêt-à-porter (33%), men's prêt-à-porter (18%) and accessories (43%), which spread the influence of French labels all over the world.

Designing a model

A model of haute couture is first and foremost the fruit of many hours of craftsmanship. As the head seamstress of a workshop explains: "Everything is in the technique: the reverse must be as beautiful as the face." The first stage is the drawing. The couturier makes a series of sketches and hands them over to the workshop, which uses them as the basis for the "canvasses". This is a generic term for the models cut from cotton cloth, generally unbleached. Lines are traced and "bolducs" - or red tape ribbons - placed onto it to define the structure of the garment.

Haute couture deals in millimetres: everything is measured so that the fabric "hangs" correctly and follows the contours of the body perfectly without hugging it. Sometimes, couturiers dispense with drawings and cut directly into the fabric: this was the case of Chanel and also Balenciaga, the great, unrivalled master, one of the first capable of cutting and even sewing as a virtuoso Next comes the stage of the fabric, which is cut, assembled, overcast before being sewn, then ironed lengthily. Up until the final fitting (on the model herself), it is possible to alter a dart, redo a shoulder, under the watchful eye of the couturier who signals his or her wishes to the head seamstress, the only dressmaker "privileged" to have access to the "studio" (the design office).

There are two types of workshop: the "suit" workshops, generally reserved for daytime wear, which are more structured, more padded; and the "dressmaking" workshops, which tend to handle evening wear. Workshops are a veritable beehive, with head seamstresses, seconds and the "arpettes" or apprentices busily working away: it is said in the trade that, in order to be a success, "a model has to give the impression that it has not been touched," especially if its pleats hide hundreds of hours of work. On the eve of the show, the final details are adjusted and everything is tidied up. Some superstitious women of couture refuse to use green thread (an omen of bad luck). Then the day of the parade arrives. The dresses set off for the catwalk. "You see them go; it's a little like watching your children go..."

L. B.

www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/label_france/ENGLISH/DOSSIER/MODE/cou.html
 
talking about haute couture, i think those outure houses tend to exagerate their so called "100 hours of embroidery work" and so give me 25000 euros
there are so many places in the world (like Burma below) which produces better embroidery than haute couture except that they have no dior or chanel on them

if only these poor people can afford to open an shop in Paris, i'm sure they will earn 100 times more than what they are earning now

carlsonfun.com
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Ghost said:
talking about haute couture, i think those outure houses tend to exagerate their so called "100 hours of embroidery work" and so give me 25000 euros
there are so many places in the world (like Burma below) which produces better embroidery than haute couture except that they have no dior or chanel on them

if only these poor people can afford to open an shop in Paris, i'm sure they will earn 100 times more than what they are earning now

1st: Jean Paul Gaultier makes his couture embroideries on India.
2nd: have you ever tried embroidering? believe me, i don´t know if the pictures from those people above gave you the impression that they do it faster but indeed inserting little sequins and crystals on fabric takes a lot of time, in burma, in Paris, in China, everywhere... the feathers on each flower are first shaped with a scalpel and coloured with steam before being inserted with a swarowsky crystal on fabric, the yellow threads are actually gold, the grey ones, silver, taking a course mastering the art of embroidery is very lenghtly and expensive, three ours of class at lessage cost 90 euros.
3rd: if those people could afford to open a shop in Paris i see two options, indeed selling it will increase people buying it but in the end will end up boring people, because one of the interesting aspects on embroidery is its exclusivity and the fact we don´t get to see it often enaugh, once we do, is no longer special, it becomes a fashion trend, or they would sell it at the same price range as Parisians wich could lead to two more options, bankruptcy or more expensive designer clothes done with embroidery (lessage embroiders rtw for dolce gabbana for example, 10 copyes of one dress).
i think the problem is not Dior, Chanel or Lessage charging 25000 euros for a piece of work that actually is worth that price, is entrepreneurs abusing from that poor people abroad not paying them what their work actually costs.

---------
Lessage Ateliers:
 
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and you mean Jean Paul Gaultier made his embroideries in India ,paying cheap prices and sold in paris for thouands?????
 
^caught me there, i read on another thread he makes his embroideries there, he had visited India in search for couture inspirations (summer 2000 for example, one of my favourite Gaultier Paris shows) so i guess he meet embroiderers there, who knows, let us hope he plays it fair, i have to admit that when i read that i felt a little dissapointed about him.
 
actually in burma embroideries like above are so so common that no body knows how to appreciate them. only tourists are crazy over them
 
^Those photos are awesome ^_^

arlekindearrabal said:
^i think it is, great article

i don't think the miyake 'seamless' concept has to do with the technique used to make that dior dress... i believe it's called "knotting", don't take my word for it though... i read somewhere here at the spot that the technique consists simply of knotting the fabric in a way that the final product is assembled withouth the need for cutting and/or stitching... it's kind of a commonplace technique in couture as far as i know, though not many dresses are completely constructed using it
There are some techniques you can use to make garments without seams. Knitting and crochet don't use seams. "Macrame" might be what you are looking for--it's the technique of knotting cords.

As for Issey Miyake's process on pleating and wrinkling, it does sound quite innovative but actually it is a traditional technique, part of Japanese textile crafts. It's called "shibori," where you tie fabrics up and boil them (it's a form of tie-dye, but you don't always have to dye). When they're dry, you unravel the fabric and the wrinkles will remain permanent depending on what fabric you use (polyester and silk are used, but I hear polyester works best). We get to learn this in one of my textiles classes :D
 
Hum .. about prices ..wasnt this one supposed to be two comma's price tag dress?

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Fall 03 couture (style.com)
 
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i think most coutue gown except suits or coat are two commas figures
 
The process of Haute Couture is always a mystery to me...this has definately educated me a lot...thanx for the thread!! This make an interesting read

:heart:
 
:woot: Oh that closeup looks so cool, Ghost! I always wonder about those kinds of appliqué. It's a bit hard to sew materials like that. I wonder if it's glued on

There are several clips of the Chanel movie... My internet connection is a bit slow, so can someone say which is the one that shows the making of the couture gown? ^_^
 
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hey look..they were building the first Dior shop in paris and the new look

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topfoto
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with the strong protest against the new look
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look at this early Dior show.....what a difference
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Ghost said:
i think most coutue gown except suits or coat are two commas figures

WHAT? Are you saying there are more than ONE dress with a million US + dollar price tag EVERY HC season? :shock:
 

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