esigner
Page:26
(Ray)
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:27
014-051_12427.indd 27014-051_12427.indd 27 5/30/09 8:47:47 AM5/30/09 8:47:47 AM
THE WORLD OF FASHION
|
27
mode of creating extremely signifi-
cant fashion. Also known as tailoring,
this process of fashioning men’s suits
involves customized production, as in
the case of haute couture, although
today it exists alongside the industrial
methods of large distribution chains.
Fashion shows
Haute couture collections are exhib-
ited by way of fashion shows. Initially,
each house organized its own show
independently until the 1930s when
a common calendar was established.
Currently, the entity that regulates
fashion shows is the Fédération Fran-
çaise de la Couture, du Prêt-à-porter
des Couturiers et des Créateurs de
Mode (www.modeaparis.com), which
was created in 1973. Haute couture
shows are held in Paris twice a year,
always before prêt-à-porter shows, in
January for the spring-summer season
and in July for the fall-winter season.
PRÊT-À-PORTER
What is prêt-à-porter?
Prêt-à-porter is serialized production
with the added value of the concept
of fashion, that is, of change with each
new season. Emerging during World
War II in the United States, under
the name “ready to wear,” it gained
strength in the 1960s in tandem with
the figure of the fashion designer, who
planned collections for industrial pro-
duction, and the boutique, a new way
of selling clothes.
As far back as the 1920s, large Ameri-
can department stores had already
introduced the fashion factor into
© Raul Benegas. Design: Dominique Sirop. Haute couture SS 2009
(continued on p.30)
esigner
Page:26
(Ray) Text
(05-12427) Job:05-12424 Title:RP-Field Guide-How to be a Fashion Designer
#175 Dtp:221 Page:27
014-051_12427.indd 27014-051_12427.indd 27 5/30/09 8:47:47 AM5/30/09 8:47:47 AM