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.

More Draping vs Tailored garments.

How does one begin to make a garment? The body is a three dimensional form. If a designer were to break it into shapes, one has two cylinders rising out of the ground. It is topped with a small box. On top of this small lower box (or pelvic girdle) sits a larger, trapezoidal box. Sprouting out of each side of this box are two cylinders and a post sticks out of the top for a head. This crud analogy does not do justice to the beauty of the human form… much like some clothing.

To cover the body, the designer must approach the body in two ways. He or she can decide to drape large pieces of fabric directly to the body. This fabric is then cut to fit and many times stitched or tied in place.

A second option would involve taking measurements, drafting a pattern block, then cutting and sewing fabric to fit each piece of the body. Both methods of making clothing have been around for quite some time. Each approach has reoccurring design themes that have inspired designer to reformulate some into some new and original thought or creative point of view. Here are just a few reoccurring themes of fashion.

Tailored Examples in Fashion History.

The roman chest piece could arguably be one of the first tailored pieces of clothing. Originally made of leather or fur, then metal than fabric, it seems to be reinvented periodically. But one may wonder “why?” Because it looks pretty damn hot! It gives an anatomy enhancement where the real wearing may be underdeveloped. It provides a symbol for masculinity or femininity in a modest (or at times, not so modest) way. It can look both powerfully fierce and sexually alluring/enticing at the same time. But also, it is custom made-to-measure. It therefore is also a symbol of affluence. One can not “just” purchase a breast plate “off the peg”.

Designers such as Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, Hussein Chalayan have taken this roman influence to heart. One can hardly forget Grace Jones wearing her Issey Miyake chest piece to the Oscars.

The t-shirt. OK – so one does not think “tailored clothing” and “t-shirt” in the same sentence, but it falls in the category of measured and knit/cut to fit. It was not originally draped on the body. In early fashion history, it was part of the “union suit” — a garment with long underwear and top knitted connected together. It had buttons/ closures and was worn for years. It evolved into a two-piece set in WWI and in the Spanish American War. It is also here that American soldiers noticed the European soldiers were wearing undergarments made of cotton not wool. While cotton had been around forever, this was a new use for it. By the 1920, the “t-shirt” was listed as an official word in the dictionary and by 1955, it was acceptable to wear the t-shirt as an outer garment. So one must also realize that the t-shirt as we know it is really very new in the complete fashion history. T-shirts with contrasting neck and arm elastic are only 50 years old. In the sixties, plastisol (a stretchable ink) was perfected. Screen-printing and tie-dyeing became the rage. Today, it is (alas) a staple for many people’s wardrobe.

And what goes better with the t-shirt? Jeans. Like other clothing trends, jeans did not start out being a fashion garment with a ridiculous price tag. The word “jeans” comes from the French word “bleu de Gênes” which translates into “blue of Genoa” or the color of the uniform cloth for the sailor pants of Genoa, Italy in the 16^th Century. The fabric has always been cotton. The fabric structure evolved over time as did the color. The California gold rush increased the demand for clothing and pants that did not tear. The fabric needed to be quite strong.

In 1853, Leob Strauss (he later changed his name to Levi) founded a company to supply just such garments. Jacob Davis came up with the idea to use rivets to attach pockets on jeans. Together they made a fortune. Because the company was in close proximity to Hollywood, jeans appeared in Westerns and were a staple on many movie lots and dude ranches. Each generation since has taken a hold of jeans to symbolize a plethora of meanings. From anti-establishment hippies to nouveau riche silicon valley corporate giants, jeans reinvent themselves. Even in this recession, the US jean market for women’s wear alone grew to a staggering 8.03 billion in sales.

Draped influences in fashion.

When I mention draped garments, most instantly think of the latest Versace gown worn by some starlet who graces the pages of Vogue. But lets take it a step back… WAY BACK. Draped garments also included such things as loincloths, skirts, saris, ponchos, cloaks, shawls and scarves. In essence, it is fabric draped on the body. And as history tells us, the first fabric was fur pelts. So when I mention scarfs, I am not thinking silk, I am really meaning Draped fur scarves... I swoon at the thought of it. A favorite fabric of mine, fur is a fabric media that evokes glamour and sophistication. It is practical in cold winter climates and wonderful to wear. Many people’s connotation of fur is that of a coat… usually a pastel mink from the 50’s worn by their mother or grandmother. And usually that coat would be made to measure… however fur, like any fabric, can and is draped.

It makes beautiful scarves, shawls and throws. It is a fabric that wears well and holds up for years. It was the reason we even have cities like Chicago, Minneapolis and the US went forward with the purchase of the Northwest Territory. I am posting some of the most beautiful draped fur creations I have found.

Think of the crinoline as not just a garment but as a shape. It accentuates the woman’s waist, many times utilizing some kind of corset/waist-cincher, and exaggerates her hips. The garment falls into a bell shaped cone making the wearer appear as if she is floating across the room when she walks in. It is immeasurably elegant and over-the-top romantic.

Is it practical? I should think not. Is it a fire hazard? Most definitely depending on the media used in the construction. What is remarkable is that it is not totally a European or Western phenomena. It had been found in Tahiti as far back as 1784. Yes, it used to be de rigueur for court fashion. The width of the crinoline was an indicator of one’s status/social position and wealth. As with then, as it is now. It is a design shape that does not seem to disappear but more/less, reinvents itself.

Finally, what conversation about tailored vs draped clothing (especially with how it applies to dress) would be complete with a discussion about the loincloth. All this discussion about under garments, t-shirts and crinolines and we have not one mention about the lowly loincloth? Oh contrare! Say it isn’t so! Sacrilege. Our conversation would not be complete without it.

The prosthetic extension, expression and ornamentation of the penis has occurred in many ways. Of course, there was the cod piece in the early mid-evil and renaissance periods. Suits of armor had “protection” as well as the clansmen and folks for New Guinea tribes but one must think of these as “tailored” as they were measured and cut to fit. The loincloth on the other hand was draped. These sexy LITTLE numbers are most certainly part of early fashion history.

They are, of course, still worn for native dress in many countries. They are still required for covers of many romance novels. They are the costume of choice for all Tarzan movies. That this garment has never crossed over into the mainstream just boggles my mind. Of course, with the explosion of obesity and out of shape couch potatoes, one does have something to give thanks for in this up coming holiday season. And, it goes without saying but I must mention it, we can all give thanks for Fabio.

PelliceMode. BE-MA Editrice, Milano, Italy May/June 2009

Extreme Beauty, The Body Transformed. The metropolitan Museim of Art, NY, NY 2001

Breaking the Mode. Contemporary Fashion from the Permanent Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Kay Durland Spilker & Sharon Sadako Takeda. Skira Editore 2007

www.style.com CondeNast Publications, NY, NY 2009

Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon. Sullivan, James. London: Gotham Books.

Jeans, Wikipedia 2009, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Abercrombie & Fitch.com 2009

Loincloth.com 2009

The blue jeans story, New Internationalist, June 1998.