Long considered the apex of high fashion, haute couture holds a rich and long history of ravishing relevance.
Pronounced [oht koo-toor], or with the French [oht koo-tyr], haute couture high fashion remains centric in luxury design, representing an unmatched level of prestige and craftsmanship.
Revered for stunning couture pieces of original designs, Christian Dior, Chanel, Charles Frederick Worth, Maurizio Galante, and Frank Sorbier are some of the most esteemed designers, topping the list of exclusive haute couture houses.
This article dives into the history of haute couture and the ability to maintain a consistent high status for over 150 years, from Dior to Maison Margiela.
We’ll also shed light on modern haute couture trends, emerging haute-couture designers and houses, and the aspirations behind the style’s highly sought-after designs.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Haute Couture Guide:
What Is Haute Couture In Fashion?
Best Haute Couture Fashion Houses
How Much Can Haute Couture Cost?
Pret-a-Porter vs Haute Couture
Who Actually Wears Haute Couture
What Does ‘Haute Couture’ Mean?
Rooted in Parisian fine fashion, the phrase ‘Haute Couture’ means ‘high sewing’ in direct translation.
The term refers to the highest standard of ‘made-to-measure’ garments worldwide, boasting the fashion crown of artisanal craftsmanship in the fashion industry.
Only the finest designs, meticulously handcrafted from the world’s most luxurious fabrics, are granted the revered status of haute couture.
Designers utilize painstakingly detailed embroidery techniques, plugin methods, and tambour beading to bring their enchanting visions to life.
Though haute couture is traditionally associated with worn fashion, the style is also prominently featured in upper-class interior design.
From window treatments to wall coverings, furnishings to delicate embellishments, upper-class interior designers use fabrics and patterns from haute couture labels such as Chanel as inspiration for high-class home decor.
What Is ‘Haute Couture’ In Fashion?
The term haute couture first appeared in 1800s France during the Industrial Revolution to describe a new style of hand-crafted dress tailor-made for royalty.
Throughout the years, haute couture has grown to include a more comprehensive selection of the highest quality fashion and contemporary design pieces of a unique design process.
In 1868, the ‘Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode‘ (FHCM) was founded in Paris to maintain and preserve the highest standards of fashion craftsmanship.
With strict requirements regarding the art of couture, FHCM granted the official recognition of haute couture design to an exclusive few, listed on its official website as FHCM members.
Enchanting every year, right from the world’s fashion capital, Paris Haute Couture Week ensures the haute couture market triumphs as the pinnacle of the fashion industry.
Haute couture styles embrace the very best in charming design, couture sewing, and fashion innovation to deliver the world’s most exquisite, enigmatic, and expensive clothing.
Driven by classic Parisian garments of rare inspiration and ingenuity, haute couture designers (also known as couturiers) continue to expand the horizons of high fashion.
Nowadays, a couturier’s unique style and expert skill are the determining factors in deciding if the fashion designer deserves the title.
Steered by traditional and modern haute couture design houses like Schiaparelli Haute Couture, Adeline Andre, and Frank Sorbier 2020s haute couture pieces showcase cutting-edge designs, placing the creative bar unflinchingly high.
Top 10 Haute Couture Fashion Houses
Classic haute couture labels such as Dior and Chanel are known for an exceptional sense of style and elegance and have persisted through the decades as the peak of haute couture designers.
Such classic couturiers revolutionized the way clothing is designed and how it is worn by creating new silhouettes for bodies, pushing the boundaries of what was understood as fashion.
Haute couture has inspired generations of fashion designers and continues to be universally held as the highest achievement in fashion craftsmanship.
Modern haute couture brands such as Alexander McQueen and Jean Paul Gaultier have taken the art of haute couture and infused it with cultural elements in unseen creations.
Paris contains the highest concentration of haute couture Maisons, with French labels like Dior, Gaultier, and Givenchy creating singular creations for the world’s most prominent, prestigious, and glamorous individuals.
Here are the top 10 Haute Couture fashion houses in 2022:
1/10
DIOR
France
The subject of many fashion books, Christian Dior is, arguably, the world’s most prestigious French haute-couture designer to date.
Directed by the CEO Pietro Beccari, the French haute couture house continues to depict a rare stylistic vision through timeless sculptures of elegant, structured, and infinitely feminine collections worn by film stars, heads of state, royals, and celebrities alike.
2/10
CHANEL
France
Born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel on August 19, 1883, in Saumur, France, “Coco” was the founder of the globally recognized haute couture Maison, Chanel.
A modern approach to practical design and stylistic simplicity made the fashion designer an influential figure in 20th-century fashion; the house’s creations dressed Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana, and Audrey Hepburn.
3/10
SCHIAPARELLI
France
Italian aristocratic family of great cultural background, erudition, and accomplishments, Elsa Schiaparelli, is hailed by fashion critics as Coco Chanel’s greatest rival.
Inspired by Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau, Schiaparelli’s unconventional couture pieces are eccentric and unmatched celebrations of wearable surrealism.
4/10
JEAN PAUL GAULTIER
France
Born in 1952 in Val-de-Marne, France, Jean-Paul Gaultier’s couture pieces and unique couture creations, such as Madonna’s famous conical bras for the 1990 Blond Ambition tour – exude a sensual, irreverent style that challenges the stereotypical idea of femininity and re-shape traditional gender roles.
5/10
GIVENCHY
France
Founded in 1952 by Hubert de Givenchy and Jaani Robert Duffy, Givenchy is a Parisian haute couture Maison and one of the world’s most coveted labels known to trigger instant recognition and admiration.
6/10
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
United Kingdom
Founded by Lee Alexander McQueen in 1992, the British haute couture house has produced some of the world’s most acclaimed collections, showcasing the designer’s unique stylistic vision, time-honored craftsmanship, and extravagant approach to clothing design.
7/10
VALENTINO
Italy
Known for designing iconic wedding dresses for Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Lopez, Anne Hathaway, and Julia Roberts, Valentino is an haute couture house of Italian heritage – loved by modern-day celebrities such as Meghan Markle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Penelope Cruz, and Keira Knightley.
8/10
FENDI
France
Established by Adele and Edoardo Fendi in Rome in 1925, the House of Fendi is a renowned haute couture house of rare elegance, craftsmanship, innovation, and style, currently owned by the Parisian fashion conglomerate LVMH.
9/10
ADELINE ANDRE
France
Taught by Surrealist painter Salvador Dali, who influenced her work, Adeline Andre is a French fashion designer who stands out via slender shapes with svelte shoulders in fluid materials such as silk crepes, wool satins, and fine cashmere clothes.
10/10
FRANK SORBIER
France
A contemporary French haute couture designer, Franck Sorbier’s collections impress with clean cuts, excellent craft, prints, embroideries, hand-painted fabrics, ornamental diversions, and refined details, emphasizing the many beautiful facets of a woman.
How Much Can Haute Couture Cost?
Haute couture dresses can cost millions of dollars, as was the case of Christian Dior’s two million USD form-fitting chartreuse column gown, worn by Nicole Kidman to the 1997 Oscars.
Reflected in the high cost of quality craftsmanship, haute couture designers create stunning and one-of-a-kind garments, using only the finest textiles, with a single garment sometimes taking a team of 8-10 designers close to 700 hours to complete.
Prices of coveted designs from exclusive haute couture designers range from a few thousand dollars well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As highly complex, elaborate creations, haute couture prices vary according to the designer’s strong history, the intricacy of each design, and even the type of fabric used.
The Difference Between Prêt à Porter & Haute Couture
It is crucial to know that most couturiers offer pret-a-porter (ready-to-wear) lines for those looking to indulge in high fashion without the made-to-order heart-breaking price tags.
Instead of being tailored for the individual, pret-a-porter lines are machine and human-made combinations, in standardized sizing, with a lower price tag and broader availability.
A blend of haute couture designs and pret-a-porter lines from Valentino, Versace, and Fendi Couture is often showcased on the red carpet, political events, and other grand functions.
Driven by a 20th century generation of designers like Emanuel Ungaro, Alexis Mabille, Alexandre Vauthier, Julien Fournie, Giambattista Valli, and Antonio Grimaldi, one-of-a-kind evening garments evolved into an industry of shoes, accessories, and even perfumes.
Who Actually Wears Haute Couture
As Haute couture pieces are made to order, each creation is custom made for a given client.
Given the prohibited prices to create genuine haute couture pieces, some of the most common haute couture buyers are celebs and royals.
Celebrities such as Zendaya (Valentino), Kylie Jenner (Balmain), Rihanna (Giambattista Valli), Yara Shahidi (Chanel), and Kim Kardashian (Thierry Mugler), are very often seen wearing haute couture.
The stunning and unique nature of haute couture clothing lends itself to a premier choice of wedding attire and other formal occasions.
Similarly, those who work in industries where formal attire is necessary regularly often elect for haute couture designs from designers such as Armani and Stephane Rolland.
Conclusion
Laying eyes on the stunning and luxurious garments that grace the term haute couture is a privilege reserved for the few.
The style remains worthy of the term ‘high-sewing,’ and sustainably stuns the fashion world with constant innovation, luxury craftsmanship, and unbridled beauty.
With movies and books describing the haute couture journeys of Chanel, Dior, McQueen, and Schiaparelli, the exquisite appellation of haute couture is on the rise.
One more thing; just because a label has the word couture in its name – Juicy Couture, I’m looking at you – it doesn’t mean you’re looking at an authentic haute couture brand.
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Which one of the Haute Couture fashion houses do you see as the best, and why?
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