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[Merry Yusetia/BAFD1A/8066#]

Haute Couture is dead; Long Live Haute Couture

The relevance of high fashion

[29/10/09] Module Title: [Extended Essay / DE3603] Advisor: [Dorothy Dougan] [Fashion Design]

FACULTY OF DESIGN

[Lasalle College of the Arts]

Essay Outline

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I. Introduction A. the definition of Haute Couture 1. For whom and why? B. Changes: that affects Couture industry 1. Introduction of mass market 2. Economic crisis 3. Diminishing consumers 4. Present time: final blow; Christian Lacroix bankruptcy. 5. Introduction if Demi couture C. The thesis statement: Haute Couture is still relevant as the top of fashion pyramid? 1. The History of Haute Couture 2. Haute Couture as a powerful marketing tool 3. Bridging the Gap: Introduction to Demi Couture as a new concept and strategy 4. Applying the same concept gearing towards the street market. How? II. Body A. The history of Haute Couture History of haute couture Crisis of Couture Viability of Couture : Recognizing its business flexibility

B. Haute Couture as a powerful marketing tool Selling a dream Using the strategy to redefine couture Case study : Dior (to be done)

C. Bridging the Gap: Introduction to Demi Couture Definition Possible reasons why it was introduced Analysing the wave of former couturier re-opening ad demi couture. Why? Will demi couture replace haute couture?

D. Applying the same marketing strategy, gearing towards the street market. III. Conclusion Collaboration of couturier and high-street market. Case Study: Karl Lagerfeld for H&M. Analysing and proving the power of status symbol

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A. Review of the major categories, combining them to prove the fact that Haute couture is relevant to the past, present and future of fashion. B. The only constant in the world is change, thus the changing faces of couture is never an issue of coutures demise. C. The final stand: as long as there is a hunger for elitism, there will always be Couture, at the very least a morphed form of couture.

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Table of Contents
Abstract.............................................................................................4

Introduction.......................................................................................5

The history of Haute Couture..............................................................6

Haute Couture as a powerful marketing tool........................................7

Introduction to Demi Couture..............................................................8

Bibliography.....................................................................................10

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Abstract
Rumors of Coutures demise have always been in the wind for a long time. However, with the recent economic crisis, in addition to the fall of Christian Lacroix early this year, the death knells of Haute Couture are being sounded once again. But, Haute Couture has survived world war, Cultural Revolution as well as economic meltdown, redefining itself to fit the times. In an attempt to prove the importance of Haute Couture in todays fashion pyramid, this essay will examine and analyse the role of Haute Couture in fashion business. It is still an essential and powerful marketing tool for a fashion empire such as LVMH, who whipped up and claim ownerships of one great couture salon after another. Big players in fashion knew the secret to magical symbol of couture, which was why they exploited it so cleverly. A study of how Couture has evolved in order to survive the economic crisis and democratization of fashion ever since the 20th Century will eventually point out Although Haute Couture is always subjective to vicissitude caused by international economic crisis (as it has always been), it was able to survive because of its commercial viability.

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Introduction

Haute couture has always been put on a pedestal in the world of high fashion and business. Haute Couture is French for high fashion, haute meaning "high" or "elegant." Couture literally means "sewing," but has come to indicate the business of designing, creating, and selling custommade, women's clothes. Its cultural meanings orbits specifically along the notions of elitism. Still, one cannot escape the cruel reality of this profitdriven industry. The problem with Haute Couture is that it inevitably could only be bought by the tiniest minority because of its sky-high prices, and in times of economic trauma, socialites too restrain at spending cash on luxury clothing (Taylor, 2000).Couture was believed to be pass by the 1960s, and if it doesnt make enough profit, then why is there a need to keep it? Is Haute Couture still relevant as the pinnacle of todays fashion pyramid? I make an attempt to prove the relevance of Couture in the fashion system.

John Galliano states in an interview done for showstudio.com, that, Everyone is saying that couture is dead, its gone and all the rest of it, with the retirement of Monsieur Yves Saint Laurent. That I have to agree, that couture, as that generation knew it is dead, it is gone. However, while all those knows-all have been saying that, in a new avant garde way, this new Couture is happening... It is agreeable that with the democratization

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of Couture, and increasing number of commercial competition, Haute Couture continued to suffer losses. It was forced to relax its rigid rules in order to survive (Kawamura, 2004). Haute Couture redefined itself to fit the times but nevertheless, proved to be a dominant force in the pinnacle of the fashion system as it survived through world war, Cultural Revolution and economic meltdown. This thesis will observe the new term, Demi Couture, which is a new hybrid of Couture and Ready-to-wear that was first introduced in 1996 but only seemed to pick up in 2005.Note that it is not a replacement of couture, but an addition of couture. By embellishing the original title, designers are re-affirming its presence and importance in the fashion industry. This might just be the solution to coutures survival in todays fashion system. An analysis of how it would help to elevate the image of Couture, and how Couture further enhance its status symbol through new means will be done through the case study of Christian Dior and Chanel Couture label. It is this issue which will form the focus of the essay.

A Brief History of Haute Couture

Haute Couture as we know today was born in Paris, when Charles Frederick Worth, first started his Couture House in 1958. Worth benefited from the support of Empress Eugnie, the wife of Napoleon III who established the tastes and fashions of the Court, thus contributing to the development of Parisian Haute Couture from the 1860s onwards. (Koda & Martin, 2000)Couture has ever since long stood as the pinnacle of the fashion system. The term haute couture is a legally protected label

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awarded every year by a special body of the French Department of Industry, the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, to those Fashion Houses able to meet specific requirements. A model haute couture garment is made specifically for the wearer's measurements and body stance. The made to measure exclusive clothes are virtually made by hand, carefully interlined, stay taped and fitted to perfection for each client. It is no wonder that a couture house usually takes from 100 to 400 hours to make one dress, which cost from $26,000 to over $100,000. A tailored suit starts at $16,000, an evening gown at $60,000. In which to speak, there are only so few who can afford to splurge on Haute Couture garments without guilt. During fashion's "golden age," after World War II, some 15,000 women wore couture. Socialites such as the Duchess of Windsor, Babe Paley, and Gloria Guiness would order whole collections at a time. Design houses present expensive million pound fashion shows of often dubious, but outrageously noticeable designs intermixed with exquisite garments on supermodels. During an interview for an article entitled Toujours Couture September this year (Carter, 2009), Sidney Toledano, chief executive of Dior stressed that, The craftspeople with the savoir faire are unique to Paris; (...) the future of Haute Couture needs the transmission of this savoir faire. We will do anything to maintain it. The idea behind Haute Couture is also the attitude of unlimited creativity where the quality of the art and craftsmanship of a garment is unparalleled. It is similar to a fashion house having a Research and Development Lab where new ideas

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and techniques are developed with no restraints on creativity or worry about funding. There is no compromise for excellence. However, faced with a series of commercial blows time after time, the industry was not able to flourish. Paris witnessed renowned Couture houses shuts its door by the inchmeal due to the transition of womens lifestyle and the heavy maintenance nature of its business. Market interest in ready-to-wear by the 1950s had clearly skyrocketed. Among the many reasons were because of its affordability for the mass and the products were more practical for their daily agendas. Furthermore, the problem with counterfeits and knockoff artists was already very serious in the late 50s (Agins, 1999). Youths of the time were no longer influenced by the upbeat reports created by the media; they were creating their own fashion, which further wounded the market value of couture. Thus, the industry of Couture was faced with a haemorrhaging of houses from the haute couture calendar; there was a significant drop from 200 couture houses to a mere 33 couturiers, of which only 11 of them are full-fledged members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture today (Kawamura, 2004). It was said (Koda & Martin, 2000), the persistence of the haute couture is as roundly questioned and doubted and debated as the survival of painting or the supposed death of Broadway. Some may have doubted that the couture would survive its founder, the entrepreneurial Charles Frederick Worth. Little did we know, amidst the ongoing rumour of Coutures demise, it has only survived over the last 150 years because of its sensitive commercial flexibility. Couture today has come a long way, further strengthening its marketing strategy.

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Haute Couture as Powerful Marketing Tool

As mentioned earlier, Haute Coutures cultural meanings orbits specifically along the notions of elitism. According to Lou Taylor, the cultural power of couture was so strong that it impacts on the style of clothing on the street levels than ever before. It is the symbol of global sophistication, and a product is just a product, until it magically transformed by a designer logo or name . The actual dressmaking site of business is never what keeps Couture buoyant. It would come as no surprise to anyone who bought a Diors eyewear, or Chanels lipstick or Yves Saint Laurents Perfume, that fragrance, make-up and accessories lines are the bread and butter of these luxury goods industry. Haute Couture is the key to high profile marketing tool that eventually lures fashion followers to the brands. Couture and business have always been associated together in close partnership. The only difference between fashion and art is that, ultimately, in fashion in order to be considered successful, at the end of the day, what matters most is being able to sell and make a profit out of it. In the case of Couture, it is about selling the image, an Haute Couture dream. Couture sells a luxury image that makes people feel that they are belonging to the elite. (Agins, 1999)Observed Pascal Morand, an economist, and the head of Institute Francais de la Mode. Couture houses gain enormous publicity and huge media attention by staging glamorous fashion shows, offering the public a tantalizing beyond-reach image, prestigious enough that only socialites could afford. (Pauline Weston

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Thomas, n.d.) They sell a dream of the intangible to the masses. By purchasing a $75 Dior perfume instead of a $30,000 beaded fantasy dress, the consumer believes to own a piece of Dior glamour. It is a process of bridging consumers to the ideal world of luxury, (McCracken, 1998). This historical analysis of building the uniqueness of coutures sartorial elitism is clever, manipulative and strategic at the same time. It was a gold mine in the eyes of a fashion monopoly conglomerate such as Bernard Arnault of LVMH (Agins, 1999), who started whipping up ownerships of one great couture salon after another. Big players in fashion knew the secret to magical symbol of couture, which was why they exploited it so cleverly. This trait of Couture is what made it so viable towards the changing faces of time. It is a powerful branding which continuingly evolves and adapts to suit the times. Couture houses quickly realised many ways to offset their mounting losses. One of which was licensing, followed by the launching of prt-a-porter, perfume line, as well as accessories. Its latest strategy was to introduce Demi Couture.

Introduction of Demi Couture

What exactly is demi-couture? To understand this new term, we have to define the meaning of couture, haute couture, and ready-to-wear or prt--porter first. Haute couture as was mentioned in the beginning of the essay, literally means high sewing. While Ready-to-wear means off-the rack, ready-made clothes. Demi means half, so demi-

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couture literally means half-couture in which refers to half-custommade womens clothing. With that in mind, it makes sense why demicouture is still classified under ready-to-wear in the fashion business. Demi
Couture is essentially an intermediate level of luxury between prt a porter and haute couture.

It takes luxury to an entirely new playing level. Note that demi couture exists not to replace Haute Couture, but a concept introduced with an intention of hoping to revive Haute Couture. The earliest reference to demi-couture was on an article published Nov 26, 1996 at the International Herald Tribune entitled, Couture: Some Like It Haute, but Others Are Going Demi. Some like it hot, some keep it haute, but now comes a new concept: demi-couture, wrote Suzy Menkes, who continued to describe Martin Margielas Spring / Summer 1997 collection entitled semi-couture. After which, the movement only picked up speed in 2005.It was running rampant among fashion historians and reporters, as well as in the design houses. The latest craze among fashion designers (and their premier clientele) is a new form of couture: By embellishing the original title, designers are re-affirming its presence and importance in the fashion industry. "I think that this could be the solution for couture," (Socha, Miles for WWD, 2006) Gaultier said, referring to the dwindling number of purveyors, with Emanuel Ungaro, Donatella Versace and Hanae Mori bidding farewell to haute couture in 2004. "We need to find a way to make couture more modern."

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End note:
(In the next chapters, a comparison of Demi couture V.S Haute Couture will be analysed.) Some of the points that are to be mentioned are: In Haute couture, if show in July, orders are usually not taken right away. Most orders arrive in September, and then it takes a month or more to make the dress. With the introduction of demi couture, customers are entitled to one fitting, and the outfit could be ready in two weeks. For more information, please refer to Essay outline at page 2.

Bibliography
Agins, T., 1999. the end of FASHION- the mass marketing of clothing business. First Edition ed. New York: William Morrow and Company, inc. Carter, G., ed., 2009. Toujours Couture. In Vanity Fair. 589th ed. UK. pp.188 202. Kawamura, Y., 2004. Social and Technical Differences among Haute Couture, Demi Couture and Pret A Porter. In The Japanese Revolution in Paris Fashion. New York: Berg. Koda, H. & Martin, R., 2000. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. [Online] Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/haut/hd_haut.htm [Accessed 3 November 2009]. McCracken, G., 1998. Culture and Consumption: new approaches to the symbolic character of consumption. Indiana Univ. Press. Miles Socha, K.F.a.R.M., 2009. Women's Wear Daily. Despite Deep Recession, Fashion Firms Still See A Big Role For Couture, Available at: http://api.onesource.com.libproxy.nlb.gov.sg/nlbremote/news_article.asp? id=RDS_203267701 [Accessed 20 September 2009]. Pauline Weston Thomas, n.d. Haute Couture, Its Meaning and Role in Fashion Today - Fashion History. [Online] Available at:http://www.fashionera.com/haute_couture.htm [Accessed 23 September 2009]. Socha, Miles for WWD, 2006. Gaultiers Game Plan: Multitasking, New HQ and Semi Couture. [Online] 2009 Fairchild Fashion Group and its licensors. Available at: http://www.wwd.com/fashion-news/gaultier-8217-s-game-planmultitasking-new-hq-8216-semi-8217-couture-711653#/article/fashionnews/gaultier-8217-s-game-plan-multitasking-new-hq-8216-semi-8217-couture711653?page=1 [Accessed 29 September 2009]. Taylor, L., 2000. The Hilfiger Factor and the Flexible Commercial World of Couture. In Nicola White, I.G. The Fashion Business - Theory, Practice, Image. New York: Berg. pp.121-42. The Economist (US), 2009. End of season; The bankruptcy of Christian Lacroix. [Online] Economist Newspaper Ltd. Available at:

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http://api.onesource.com.libproxy.nlb.gov.sg/nlbremote/news_article.asp? id=RDS_203294227> [Accessed 20 September 2009].