Haute Couture: Meaning, Role Features, & how to become a Haute Couture Designer

Do you remember the beautiful attire that Miss World PRIYANKA CHOPRA donned in Met Gala 2019? Yes, I am talking about this one. Indeed she bedazzled everyone with her stunning looks on the red carpet. Priyanka wore a dramatic caged dress with a cascading rainbow. The dress was designed by Dior. Actually, in the language of fashion designing, it was not a dress. It was an Haute Couture.

Yes, you read it right it was an ‘Haute Couture.’ Now let’s learn about this term in detail.

Meaning:

Haute Couture is a French word with two syllables: Haute and Couture. Haute means high /upper or elevated while Couture means dressmaking.

• It is the most elevated form of dressmaking which shows the different dress styles, fashion styles, different colour combinations, and ideas.
•  It is the most expensive fashion form with the highest quality of craftsmanship.
• It’s a top-level of hand customized fashion designing which is made by a specific design house for a private client.
•  The clothes are designed virtually by hands which are carefully interlined for the clients.

Roles of Haute couture

As costumes of this are very expensive, so anyone can’t afford to have it.

• Initially, the designers made costumes for getting more bucks. But the process changed and now Haute Couture has transformed into a
  mode of advertising the art.
• It has become a means for designers to advertise their products. It’s rather a marketing tactic for the company to sell perfumes, hand backs, and lipsticks to the public.
• Moreover, the Storehouses and designers like Armani, Dior, Chanel under it has earned great name and fame which has added sparks to the fashion shows.
• Storehouses are generally used for marketing the outfits.
• Those outfits are lent to fashion magazines for photoshoots. And magazine chooses the celebrities to walk on the red carpet to flaunt the costumes.

Features of Haute couture

• It is the most expensive handmade art of dressmaking which requires a lot of effort as well as time.
• Costumes are sewn by most experienced designers and are all made by famous costume designer houses.
• The costumes are mostly prepared in Paris and other fashion capitals like New York, Milan, Tokyo, or London.
• Costumes are exclusively made by hand, carefully interlined, taped, and fitted to perfection for each client.
• It’s garments are made from the finest expensive materials.
• Silk, leather, cotton, furs are the fabrics used to make unusual unique designs of dresses. The fabrics used are of a very expensive quality which makes the costumes worth up to a hundred thousand dollars.

How to become a Haute couture designer?

Not just anyone can become an haute couture designer. It requires a lot of experience with creativity and unique ideas. There are also some qualifications to become a Couturier/couturiere.

1 A designer must own workshops which should have 15 full-time employees. There must be 20 technicians in a workshop for beading and intricate works.

2 A designer must have to show at least 50 design pieces on a runway to the public.

3 All courier house must design two collections in a year with 35 dresses in every collection.

4 A designer must submit at least two fittings for the designer dresses.

Haute couture is a very defined art that requires days of persistent hard work. Although the price is high, it’s worth for service, workmanship, originality of a unique design, and use of superb materials of the finest quality. Moreover, Haute Couture adds a spark to the fashion shows and earns an audience for magazines.