EOC week 1: Haute Couture

A French phrase for high fashion, Haute Couture is what is defined as 'High Dressmaking'. The word Couture means anything having to do with sewing or dress making, any type of hand made needle-work, while the word Haute stands for high class or fashionable.  Basically, anything Haute Couture is top of the line, elite wear that is highly expensive and made exclusive for you.


And just because you make hand-made garnments for a friend with some expensive fabric, it doesn't mean you're couture. By French law, the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris (Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris) states you cannot label your work as Haute Couture unless you earn the right. To call your work couture, you must:

• Design garnments specific to a client.
• Own a atelier ( workshop) in Paris, France that employs fifteen people full-time at the least.
• And each fashion season, provide a collection to Paris Press consisting of 35 or more pieces of daytime and evening wear.

So, unless you're really rich and have friends in high places, Haute couture is a label you can only dream of calling your work, if you're a fashion designer of course.I enjoy what Haute Couture has done for the fashion industry as well the photographic industry over it's notable and on-going course. Without it, fashion magazines would be bland and pointless, also the costume and fashion world would be nothing for it's Haute Couture that reigns the course for both.


Myself, being an aspiring fashion editorial photographer, I feel I have a higher appreciationg for Haute Couture and I look forward to the unveiling of each couture houses creations. I want to be able to work with the house designers one day and photograph a spread in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar or any high status fashion magazine.