| FASHION is an art reflecting life. Every now and again we hear the names of Valentino, Paco Rabanne, Denim Paul Gautier, Giorgio Armani etc. There fashion houses have a great impact on our hair styles, what we wear, the way we put on makeup and even behave in this or that situation. Every season gurus of fashion determine our choices of clothing.
There are several very important events in the fashion calendar known as fashion weeks. Fashion weeks are arranged each season for fashion designers to exhibit their latest collections in runway shows and for buyers to see the latest fashions. The most important thing is that they present the industry what is in fashion and what is out of fashion for the season. The most significant fashion weeks are organized in the fashion capitals, including Milan, London, New York and Paris where luxury clothes (also known as haute couture) are displayed.
Haute Couture is a French phrase for expensive and fashionable clothes intended for women. Couture stands for dressmaking, sewing, or needlework, whereas haute means sophisticated. Haute couture clothes are made for a particular customer from high-quality, expensive fabrics and sewn by hand often using time-consuming techniques. Hence, couture clothes are luxurious and chic.
Depending on the haute couture fashion house and the garment, the price of a couture item varies from $10, 000 for a blouse to $40, 000 and commonly beyond that sum. The cost includes payments for the service, work, an exclusive design and premium-class fabrics of the highest quality.
Besides, every client will receive a garment to fit them perfectly. It takes around 100-150 hours to produce a handmade suit and up to 1000 hours for an adorned evening dress with thousands of beads sewed by hand. A couture house like Chanel, for instance, will have approximately 150 regular customers buying luxury garments, and a couture house like Dior will make around 20 luxury wedding gowns per year
Fashion houses use only luxurious materials, including expensive silks, fine wools, cashmeres, cottons, linens, leather, suede and furs.
Along with clothes, well-renowned fashion houses make luxury accessories, including hats, buttons, belts, jewellery, shoes, handbags. Those who can afford couture items are glad to pay for exclusivity and the privacy guaranteed by the system. |
