Fashion Design Terminology
Posted on June 2, 2006
Filed Under Fashion Design Education, Fashion Design Miscellaneous, Fashion Week
What types of collections are seen at Fashion Week? Why do the clothes shown in during Fashion Week differ from what one then finds once the new season hits the stores?
What we see during Fashion Week is considered to be Haute Couture. Haute couture is not only made-to-order for a specific customer, it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming hand-executed techniques.
In France, the designation “haute couture” is protected by law. A certain number of formal criteria (number of employees, participation in fashion shows…) must be met for a fashion house to use the label; a list of eligible houses is made official every year by the French Ministry of Industry. The haute couture houses belong to the professional union, the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.
What you then seen in the stores, therefore, is considered “ready-to-wear”. The French term for ready-to-wear (not custom fitted) fashion is prêt-à -porter. Every haute couture house also markets prêt-à -porter collections, which typically deliver a higher return on investment than their custom clothing. In fact, much of the haute couture displayed at fashion shows today is never sold; it is created to enhance the good name of the house. Falling revenues have forced a few couture houses to abandon their less profitable couture division and concentrate solely on the less prestigious prêt-à -porter. These houses are no longer considered haute couture.
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