Haute Couture Industry - written by Anil Gupta

Haute couture means accuracy in lines. "Haute couture consists of secrets whispered from generation to generation," says Yves Saint Laurent. The designer is careful to achieve a supreme balance in all his clothes, designs in the secrecy of the "studio". If, in ready-to-wear, a garment is contrived according to standard sizes, the haute couture garment adapts to any imperfection in order to get rid of it. Haute couture is an art which hides the imperfection with raising a collar, or adjusting the sleeve of a suit or a plunging neckline, so as to hide a sloping shoulder or admirably emphasize a bust line

At present there are eighteen houses of haute couture in France today - they are Balmain, Pierre Cardin, Carven, Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Feraud, Givenchy, Lecoanet Henant, Christian Lacroix, Lapidus, Guy Laroche, Hanae Mori, Paco Rabanne, Nina Ricci, Yves Saint Laurent, Jean-Louis Scherrer, Torrente, Emanuel Ungaro.

The golden age of haute couture goes back to the fifties. The star models of the day were Capucine, Sophie Litwak and Bettina, who gave her name to a light, flimsy blouse later copied thousands of times. Famous clients were American, such as Mrs Lopez, Rachel Lambert Mellon, Babe Paley and even the Duchess of Windsor.

At present only 2,000 women in the world buy couture clothes; 60% are American. Only 200 are regular customers. Generally, designers loan clothes to movie stars or other public figures for publicity. During fashion's "golden age," after World War II, some 15,000 women wore couture. Even though the small market, designers maintain haute couture operations to some extent because the prestige helps sell other products, such as perfume, cosmetics, and their ready-to-wear lines accessible in stores.

In a world of relaxed dressing and obsolete dress codes present couture lacks feasibility for even few people who might afford it. Those who can and still choose to are the old clientele. The young rich prefer to wear jeans and top from an up and coming 'young' designer with a finger on the buzzer.

The enormous cash flow which is needed to create a 40 minute runway show that may or may not be a success, means that fashion houses cannot depend on Haute Couture for their main income. To make profits, couture houses have real need for the change of branding to produce ready to wear and fashion goods with more realistic price tags for the majority, rather than exclusive pricing for a minority. Haute Couture is likely to stay merely as a marketing tool since it's the enhanced cachet of brand association with it, that really does capture the public's imagination and which will help the remaining few couture houses to survive in the 21st century.

Every neighborhood of Paris reflects a unique attitude and style - the designer extravagance and haute couture characterize avenue Montaigne and rue Faubourg St-Honore; classic sophistication pervades St-Germain; avant-garde style dresses up the Marais; while a hip feel suffuses the area around the place des Victoires. This is PARIS.