The Couture Club

Even the most unknowledgeable of eyes can recognise couture as the height of sartorial craftsmanship, with the HIGHEST of prices tag$$$. Take the awards season for example, any lay viewer could see Julianne Moore wearing Chanel Couture and think “boy how pretty, bet it cost a fuck load though”. To me (I like to think I am somewhat more knowledgeable when it comes to fashion), the essence of the Couture is very much like a gang or your average (clichéd) high school clique, oh this is me trying to be more relatable if you didn’t know. Something you may not know about Couture is that it is in fact a legal status. In France all things relating to fashion are governed by the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris and all official couture houses are defined within the Chambre syndicale de la Haute Couture. When I first read about this, I was rather taken back. I was so blindly unaware of how inextricably connected fashion was to French history. It is enshrined in legislation for christs sake! Henceforth, it is ILLEGAL for a collection (or house) to claim to “Haute Couture” without being and official member. Within the Chambre Syndicale there are 5 definitive categories:

1.Official Members (Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, etc) 2.Correspondent Members (Giorgio Armani, Versace, Valentino, Elie Saab) 3. Guest Members (Iris Van Herpen-she is the only one I had actually heard of) 4.Jewlery (Chanel Joaillerie, Dior Joaillerie) 5.Accessories (Loulou De La Falaise. Notable "former members" include: Balenciaga, Christian Lacroix (can someone please bring him back), Lanvin and Yves Saint Laurent.

(Maybe it’s just me but this SCREAMS feudal system)

Formalities aside, the point of this post was to hopefully alter the way you viewed Haute Couture. No longer look upon it and quiver at the flawless hand stitching, with impeccable embellishments. No longer be utterly blinded by the 6-7 figure price tags (the probably go higher). See Haute Couture as just like the Plastics (fashion people please don’t burn me at the stake). Not only will they hiss “YOU CAN’T SIT WITH US!” but also, they will serve with a cease and desist notice with love from the French government.