In Celebration of Couture

In celebration of the couture fashion weeks, here are TWO wonderful videos that transports one through the couture experience. Dior is really synonymous with Couture since it's inception. From the moment it opened it's doors in 1946, Christian Dior (now simply Dior) has amazed the world with their craft and attention to detail. Couture, or really Haute Couture translates from French for "high sewing". The "haute" translates as "high". It is the creation of exclusively custom-fitted clothing. It is hand made from start to finish. It is not mass produced but more like the female equivalent of men's bespoke. It is of the finest quality and done with attention to detail. It is only done by the most experienced of craftsmen and craftswomen. It is very TIME CONSUMING and very, very expensive. A couture dress can be as cost as much as a house. It is like purchasing a Monet. The clientele that buy it are in the upper stratosphere of economic privilege. The haute couture garment is made taking into account the wearers measurements, body stance and figure flaws. The designs may be deceptively simple to look at but often very painstakingly produced. Budget is not of consideration in couture. Artistic impact is of the utmost importance. Many garments utilize precious jewels, including diamonds, in the embroidery for maximum impact and reflectivity.

 

The Haute in the Haute

From a legal standpoint, the words Haute Couture are defined by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris. This regulatory body determines which houses can be declared "haute couture". To be legally "haute", a designer must meet a few simple criteria. 

• Each design must be made-to-order for a private client and require more than one fitting.
• The workroom must have a staff of 15 employees working full time in Paris
• The workroom must also employ 20 technical staff working in at least one workroom
• The designer must produce 50 original designs for the public in a collection twice a year.

Few fashion houses have the mean to be considered "haute", however to be considered couture is another story. Couture gets slung around a lot and is often mistake for a luxury ready-to-wear. The two are very different. A high end, ready-to-wear (or pret-a-porter) is often misinterpreted as haute couture and many will align the term with couture. The two are not the same. Most, but not all, couture houses have a ready-to-wear collection that is available to the affluent public. However, that trend is really changing particularly in the last year. Economists take note. Two houses, most recently  Viktor and Rolf and Jean Paul Gaultier have dropped their lucrative ready-to-wear lines and to concentrate on couture. Other fashion houses like Versace have added couture lines to their ready to wear. Thus, there are uber rich shopping as the economic divide has widened. 

The two videos posted are from Dior. The garments are from two distinctly different creators. The first is under the creative vision of the current director Raf Simons. When one looks at it, it appear as a simple top with a striped poof skirt. Don't be deceived. Watch this creation being made and you will see, it is not so simple. 

The second video from Dior is under the creative leadership of John Galliano. A master is creative vision, he has re-entered the design world after a long absence. I can't express how much he was truly missed in his absence. The fashion world was a bit dull and bleak without something to look forward to each season. His new collection for Maison Martin Margiela Margiela was outstanding and showed off his creative talents.

Sketching vs draping

This is a hot button for me. Designers that sketch an idea verses those that take fabric and apply it to the stand (dress/body form) and drape. In my mind, this boils down to skill. Can a designer who ‘sketches’ actually make the garment they design? In many instances, the answer to that question is no. Many, many designers come to fashion with the idea they want to “design” and then hand off the ‘work’ for execution to someone else. Then again, there are those who know the “process” and can do both. Balenciaga is an excellent example of someone that could do everything… and did. He had vision and he had “skill” from years of sweat and ‘work’.

There is a remarkable difference in the final outcome of a garment's design whether the designer knows how to drape vs sketch. To be blunt, I think it requires a different part of the brain. The part of the brain that is used for sight is not the same part that executes algebra or balances a checkbook. So which part of the brain is used to “sketch” vs “to drape”?

In draping, a designer takes into account the tactile feel and hang of the fabric. They must contemplate the three dimensional form of the body and the interplay of the fabric. Expertise is needed to take the design off the stand and translate the molded fabric into a flat pattern Granted, this part of the process may be handed off to someone, but draping fabric requires more physical energy than sitting and pushing a pencil. To be blunt again, the designer has to get off their #$%^& and pay attention to the body and the fabric on it. This simple (and not so simple step) gives totally different results because the designer is more involved in the “process”. OMG. There is that word again.

So maybe I sound just a tad catty here. I do not mean to down play the labors and vision of designers like Valentino, YSL, Pauline Tregere, etc. To be fair, these people were trailblazers. They invented the manufacturing process for the mass market AND at the same time created a line or silhouette that was novel. They also had to create it in a world without cell phones. They looked at the cultural context of society and how clothing was worn and developed new shapes. They had to deal directly with labor issues without the crutch of sending it to the far off sweat shop. With today’s fashion, much the clothing industry seems to be taken over by stylists, pop stars and marketing agents… but not designers.

There is a “process” in the sketching arenas of design. Sadly, it is one that has evolved over time, my guess, by having to work with clients/supervisors/vendors that lacked vision. A sketch translates the design instantly. What you see is what you get. Revisions are faxed or emailed back and forth to the supplier. Some poor grunt has to execute the garment for a buck. Currently 95% of everything we (Americans) "design" in clothing is really made in China. The designer celeb takes a mark up. But can you always put a drape and twist of fabric into a sketch to send to someone? Will they "get it"? Can the new off-shore factory translate the sketch?

Take a look at sketches from many well-known designers. A sketch from YSL, as primitive as it may be, gets the concept across. I can see how the garment is going to look. Valentino is another. I get the concept. Oleg Cassini, no contest. I get it. It is the same with others. These designers had the staff on hand to pull of whatever they drew. Do these garments really react and relate to the body? Are they gimmicky? Perhaps. But I get the concept.


A Quick fashion history lesson.
Vionnet is the known as the originator of bias cut. Gres is known for taking the draped garments to a new level inspired by the Greeks. Both are shown here and both influenced many other designers. Both women draped their own designs. In the case of Vionnet, she did her designs in half scale on a doll and scaled them up when she was satisfied with the idea. Gres executed her work alone in a room with no one else but a real life model. She worked like a sculptress molding her clay. Dior, Balenciaga and Fath were contemporaries of Gres. Later designers like Versace and Halston held these two women in high esteem and tried to emulate their footsteps while adding to the conversation themselves.

Their clothing designs work in tandem with the body. There is an interplay with the body and the fabric. Is it always practical to wear? No. Just like it is not always practical to wear blue jeans and t-shirts. But the range and scope of the creativity is worlds apart from those that just
“sketch”. I may not always know where they are going with their dialogue on the evolution of their designs, but I get the concept...they are executing their craft. I get it. I am thrilled to take the creative journey with them.

So, ask yourself this, who will do a better job in designing a collection of clothing? A fine artist/painter/designer like for instance, Ralph Rucci of Chado or perhaps.... Victoria Beckham aka Fuzzy Spice or whatever her name was. Rucci is a painter and can sketch, but he also drapes and has been refining his craft for over 20 years. He is known for unusual seaming and a refined technique. Freaky Spice is known for.???? Oh yeah, she married the hottie soccer player and does underwear ads with him. Yeah. That it. Got it.











































Steven Bluttal, Patricia Mears. Halston. Phaidon Press. NY 2001

Harold Koda. Goddess: The Classical Mode. Metropolitan Museum of Art . NY 2003

Valerie Steele, Patricia Mears, Clare Sauro. Ralph Rucci. The Art of Weightlessness. Fashion Institute of Technology. NY 2007

Caroline Rennolds Milbank. Couture. The Great Designers. Steward, Tabori & Change, Inc. NY 1985

Pamela Golbin. Valentino, Themes and Variations. Rizzoli USA. NY 2008

Florence Muller, Hamish Bowles. Yves Saint Laurent Style. Abrams. NY 2008

Richard Martin Giuanni Versace. Metropolitan Museum of Art & Abrams. NY 1998

Pamela Golbin Madeleine Vionnet Rizzoli USA. NY 2009