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Everything You Need To Know About Haute Couture

Updated: May 18



What does the term haute couture mean to you? Most of you must know that haute couture translated literally, means high dressmaking (couture is French for dressmaking, while haute means high). Haute couture is fashion at its most refined, it is a symbol of French luxury. It refers to custom handmade garments which are exquisite creations imagined by the world’s leading designers and made from high quality, expensive, unusual fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail, crafted by a team of most-skilled artisans and craftsmen. But that’s not all to it. So, get ready to explore this fashionable term in the latest article in the link in bio and become a little of a fashion expert.


Couture and haute couture are fashion terms which are often used interchangeably meaning distinction of design and technique that remains an influence more lasting and prestigious than fashion trends. It is a discipline of ultimate imagination and accountable exclusively to its clients.



Haute couture is fashion at its most refined, it is a symbol of French luxury. It refers to custom handmade garments which are exquisite creations imagined by the world’s leading designers and made from high quality, expensive, unusual fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail, crafted by a team of most-skilled artisans and craftsmen.



It’s no surprise that when it comes to fashion, France is a powerhouse.

For a collection to be called “Haute Couture”, it needs to be a design made-to-order for private clients, it must have been designed and created inside an atelier (workshop) in Paris that employs 20 full-time staff members and at least 20 full-time technical people, plus it should present a collection of at least 25 original designs twice a year (January & July) at the Paris Couture Week.



Though the term Haute Couture is synonymous with French culture, it may come as a surprise that it was actually an Englishman named Charles Frederick Worth who in 1858 founded the first true Couture House at number 7, rue de la Paix in Paris. The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (External link) the most important fashion organization in France, is responsible for regulating the haute couture industry in Paris. It seeks to promote French fashion culture, where Haute Couture contributes to bolstering Paris in its role as worldwide fashion capital.



There are only 14 designers who bear the label of haute couture. Christian Dior, Chanel, Ellie Saab and Versace are some of the big names who produce haute couture. Authentic haute couture persists in providing us with the best of the most beautiful clothing that can be envisioned and made in any era; it is as it began – a dream of quality in an era of industry and mass marketing. At the top end of fashion design is ‘haute couture’, a prestigious field in which a designer works on unique creations for exclusive clients.



Every year Haute Couture exhibitions or events are held at some of the most famous and extravagant museums and exquisite locations across the world like the Palais de la Porte Dorée, Palais Galleria and The Musée Yves Saint-Laurent in Paris, The Museum of Decorative Arts in Bordeaux, the Victoria and Albert museum in London and the national museum of Scotland in Edinburg. The exhibitions are magical, theatrical, historical and cinematographic highlighting the couturiers creative process, some previously unseen pieces as well as some extraordinary vintage designs.



For the fashion aficionados from around the world, one can opt for private shopping tours in Paris with your very own personal shopper. So, on your next trip to the World’s Fashion Capital, take a stroll along the streets of Avenue Montaigne, Avenue George V, and Rue Francois 1er and immerse yourself in a world of luxury shopping in Paris! On these three beautiful streets which form the shopping triangle, you will find the most prestigious designer clothing such as Dior, Chanel, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Balmain, Givenchy and more!


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