| FASHION is an art that reflects life. From time to time we hear the names of Valentino, Paco Rabanne, Givenchy, Versace etc. There designers have a tremendous influence on our hair styles, the way we wear things, the way we put on make-up and even our habits. Fashion designers determine our choice of clothing every season.
There are several very crucial events in the fashion calendar which are called fashion weeks. Fashion weeks are arranged each season for fashion designers to show their latest collections in runway shows and for fashion conscious people to view the latest trends. The most significant thing is that they exhibit the industry what is in and what is out 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 shown.
Haute Couture is a French word combination for expensive and fashionable clothes intended for women. Couture denotes dressmaking, sewing, or needlework, whereas haute means refined. Haute couture items are made for a specific customer from high-quality, expensive fabrics and sewed by hand usually using time-consuming techniques. Thus, couture garments are luxurious and chic.
Depending on the haute couture and the garment, the cost of a couture item runs from $10, 000 for a blouse to $40, 000 and commonly beyond that figure. The price includes payments for the service, work, an exclusive design and splendid materials of the finest quality.
Moreover, every customer will get a garment to fit them ideally. It takes around 100-150 hours to make a handmade luxuty suit and up to 1000 hours for an evening dress embroidered with thousands of beads sewn by hand. A haute couture house like Chanel, for instance, will have around 150 regular customers purchasing luxury garments, and a couture house like Dior will make approximately twenty luxury wedding dresses every year.
Alongside clothes, renowned fashion houses make luxury accessories, such as hats, buttons, belts, jewelry, shoes, handbags. Those who can afford couture garments, pay for exclusivity and the privacy offered by the system. |