The Breathtaking Beauty of High Fashion Brought To You By FTV
While FashionTV is always stunned by the the unique ready-to-wear designs of New York, London, Milan, and Paris Fashion Weeks, it's Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week that also takes our breath away. We are ultimately overwhelmed by the intricate use of embroidery, pailettes, and beading, architectural additions of insets and pleats and lavish fabrics like chiffon, organza, gazar, silk, feathers, and fur. Yes, design labels like Versace, Chanel, Valentino, Givenchy, Giambattista Valli Jean Paul Gaultier, and Dior have mens and womenwear labels, but their technical craftsmanship, attention to detail, and complex handiwork have their moments in the limelight (not soon to be forgotten) when they create their one-of-a-kind haute couture collections. FashionTV brings you the very best of their beautiful concepts from Spring/Summer 2012.
Follow FashionTV for all the haute couture that designer brands like Dior, Versace, and Stephane Rolland have to offer.
What Is Haute Couture?
Cathy Horyn, style writer for The New York Times recently wrote, “I think couture should yield an experience that is unavailable anywhere else.” Essentially, this is what couture is all about. Haute couture, French for high dressmaking, is about the creation of exclusive custom-made clothing made from high quality fabrics and often sewn with extreme time-consuming detail to create high-end one of a kind looks. That's why you'll typically only see these pieces worn by affluent private clients, well-to-do socialites, or Hollywood movie stars who want to make an impact with a look not found anywhere else.
In order to be recognized as a couture house, a fashion brand needs to design made-to-order pieces for private clients with fittings, have an atelier (workshop) in Paris with at least 15 people full time, and each season (Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer) present a collection to the Paris press with at least 35 runs with outfits for both daywear and evening wear. Perhaps this is no longer so accurate as designers like Donatella Versace presented only 15 looks this season.
History of Haute Couture
Couture began in the late nineteenth century when designer Charles Frederick Worth established the first haute couture house in Paris. Later, after World War II, designers like Christian Dior became devoted to dressing women in elegant style, separately from the uniforms they had been used to. War, recession, and other obstacles have changed the face of couture but it has continued to survive, with a recent boom in sales.
30 design houses showcased their designs in Spring/Summer 2012 season. The Chambre syndicale de la haute couture is comprised of at least 33 members at the present time, including jewelry and accessories.
Experience the extravagance of haute couture on FashionTV with highlights from breathtaking shows like Versace and Georges Hobeika. FashionTV brings you the top designers, models, runways shows, and premiere front row and backstage action at the biggest events from around the world.
