Haute Couture – The Fashion-Craft Laboratory

From 25 to 29 January, Paris is hosting the Spring/Summer 2015 Haute Couture shows, the biannual opportunity to show why the city still retains its crown as the world’s premier fashion city. This week, TL MAG is following the couture shows, showcasing luxury artisanship and craft.

Unlike the Ready-to-Wear shows, where clothing is designed to be mass-produced on an industrial scale and where the ‘fashion weeks’ are proliferating (not only the ‘big four’ comprising of New York, London, Milan and Paris, but also events in Berlin, São Paulo etc), Haute Couture is very much a French specificity that is protected by the law. To obtain the official couture label, a fashion house must be recognized by the French Federation of Haute Couture following an assessment made by industry professionals and validated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The criteria include presenting work that is hand-made, made-to-measure and created in the designer’s studio.

At present only 14 names officially hold the title of a Haute Couture house, among which figure some of the big players in global fashion including Chanel, Dior and Givenchy, but also younger designers such as Alexandre Vauthier, who is presenting his first collection as a permanent member this year. Another six houses (foreign for the most part) are included as ‘corresponding members’ (such as Versace and Valentino) and the Couture Federation also selects a number of ‘invited members’ – an intermediary stage – who renew their membership each season. The Turkish label Dice Kayek, the British duo Ralph & Russo, the Canadian designer of Jordanian origin Rad Hourani and the French designer of Chinese origin Yiqing Yin all make up this group, which accounts for some 9 houses this year. They all aim for creative excellence, achieved through craftsmanship and the use of exceptional fabrics, often employing artisans whose know-how is slowly disappearing, and through an increasingly specialized use of technology and innovation.

Main image / Image 01
Rad Hourani Haute Couture 2015

Image 02
Ece and Ayse Ege / Dice Kayek.