As happens every haute couture season, social media is once again filled with spectacular images: impossible dresses, exaggerated volumes, and pieces designed more to make headlines than to be understood outside the catwalk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For decades, haute couture was the driving force behind the fashion system. It set the trends in silhouettes, techniques, and creative hierarchies that were then passed down to ready-to-wear fashion. Today, that model has disappeared. Fashion is no longer organized from the top down, and the economic weight of the sector is concentrated in accessories, fragrances, and industrial lines. However, haute couture has not disappeared, but why? What is its real purpose today? Why are only a few houses able to produce it? And to what extent is extravagance an essential condition for its existence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Participating in haute couture fashion shows places a brand in a very specific hierarchy within the luxury sector. It is not just a question of aesthetics, but also of structure. The term \u201cHaute Couture\u201d is regulated and protected: it implies workshops in Paris, teams of specialized artisans, bespoke collections presented twice a year, and a direct relationship with actual clients.<\/strong> It is not a label that can be freely adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n