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32 THE FASHION DESIGN REFERENCE + SPECIFICATION BOOK
(Text)
Costumier and dress designer
Charles Frederick Worth
Photograph by Hulton Archive/Getty Images.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute, New York. Photograph by Amy Sussman/Getty Images.
Haute Couture and the
Chambre Syndicale
Haute couture constitutes made-to-order,
custom- tted garments constructed of
high-quality fabrics and sewn with extreme
attention to detail and nish. In France, the
Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture is
the regulating commission responsible for
bestowing on designers the highly prized
classi cation as an of cial haute couture
house. The organization has demanding
standards: A fashion house must create fty
new and original designs of day and evening
wear to be shown as collections twice a year
in Paris. It must also employ a minimum
of twenty full-time technical workers. The
number of houses that can boast the label
of haute couturier changes every year and
has dwindled over time, it but remains the
highest benchmark of quality and artistry in
the industry.
Prêt-à-Porter
Prêt-à-porter constitutes any off-the-rack gar-
ment, regardless of quality. These garments
are available in standard sizes and even at
the luxury level are considerably more af-
fordable than the couture clothing that often
inspires them. Most couture houses offer
one, if not a number of, ready-to-wear col-
lections. These collections generate greater
pro ts as they are manufactured using fac-
tory equipment and techniques, and are thus
produced more quickly, in larger numbers,
and at lower cost.
The Belle Époque, as the French term the period between 1890 and 1914, saw the advent of
clothing design recognizable today as fashion rather than costume. One prominent designer
was Jacques Doucet, who ourished during the 1890s. He was known for using fur in the man-
ner of fabric, seen in his designs for fur-lined coats. His tailored suits and uid tea gowns were
also coveted items. An extension of aesthetic dress, these tea gowns were worn uncorseted
at home throughout Europe and America. The trend would have a direct in uence on two of
Doucet’s in-house designers, Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet, whose own designs later
contributed to freeing women’s bodies from the corset.
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#175 Dtp:204 Page:32
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