Once satisfied the designer instructs his staff to make up the garment in the selected and exclusive materials. One seamstress or tailor will work on the garment from start to finish. The cutting and finishing is done in one room and the workroom manageress is responsible for everything produced in that room.
When a customer decides to order a Haute Couture garment she needs to first make an appointment with the design house prior to any visit to Paris. Model garments from collections are sometimes out of the country being presented elsewhere. Some couture houses provide a video of the collection to serious purchasers. Once given an appointment the client is looked after by a vendeuse, an important saleswoman responsible for customers, their orders and supervision of their fittings.
The vendeuse gets commission on the clothes of her own particular group of clients. From the moment a client is received at the salon the client is helped and humoured through all stages of fitting and sudden difficulties.
A difficulty could for example be another client from the same city who wants the exact same design and colour garment for a prestigious function. The vendeuse smoothes out such problems knowing full well what a disaster it could be for two women to pay vast sums for an exclusive haute couture item only to bump into the acquaintance at the same venue in the identical outfit.
Every ensemble ordered is made to the requirements of each individual client. After choosing the model she wants, a customer is measured and has to be prepared for 3 fittings, sometimes more. The vendeuse holds discussions between stockroom, embroiderers, furriers and client. Sometimes designers work for their own label and sometimes they work for a famous Haute Couture house. Very few couture model sales are made in a year and these rarely total more than about sales for each house.
Credit: Dior. Dozens of women work in almost religious silence, peering through their glasses to focus on the tiny details of their creations. Sometimes up to 10 women, occasionally even more, work on a single dress, hunched over the exquisite fabric. These workers as they describe themselves in the documentaries wear white tunics. Many have blond highlights in their hair; they are often overweight and wear cheap jewellery.
When they take a break, they drink coffee and smoke out of the window of the small staff room, eat sandwiches and yoghurt that they brought from home, speak colloquial French, and have hands that show the evidence of years of manual work. They store their coats and bags in lockers and have to clock in when they arrive and out when they leave.
The most important news, analysis and insights delivered to your inbox at the start and end of each day. The 'little hands' behind the making of an haute couture gown. Instead, they will start to appear on the backs of clients, some as early as in three months — of course, the ones with the most sway are already wearing them.
With many of the shows beginning today, we look over some of the basics of this rarefied world. Haute couture is government regulated.
Couture and haute couture are not the same. To be considered a haute couture house, brands must own an atelier in Paris with at least 15 full-time employees and present at least 35 looks in a show, twice a year. Each year the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture draws up a list of official couture houses that meet those specifications. This list can and does change; Givenchy notably dropped off of the list of haute couture in Spring No brand, no matter their prestige, can circumvent the guidelines first put in place back in Ateliers are really the basis of couture.
Follow Us. Terms Privacy Policy. What makes a piece of clothing haute couture? Design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings.
Have a workshop atelier in Paris that employs at least 15 staff members full-time. Must have 20, full-time technical people in at least one workshop atelier. Every season, present a collection of at least 50 original designs to the public, both day and evening garments, in January and July of each year. Based on these four criteria, it's easy to see that becoming a couture house and having your clothing deemed haute couture is no easy feat.
Do haute couture lines show during fashion week? How long does it take to make a haute couture piece? How much does a haute couture piece cost and who buys them?
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