A short history of haute couture
From the first Paris couture house in the 1850s to today's global couture calendar.
Haute couture as we know it began in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century, when the English-born designer Charles Frederick Worth opened a house that dressed clients in designs he created, rather than simply sewing what they ordered. He showed models wearing his designs and put his name on his work: the beginnings of the designer label.
Organising the craft
In 1868 Paris dressmakers formed a trade body that would become the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Over the following century it defined who could call themselves haute couture and organised the shows, rules that still shape the industry today through the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.
The golden age
The decades after 1945 are often called couture's golden age, with new silhouettes, large ateliers and wealthy private clients from around the world. Couture set the direction that ready-to-wear and department stores followed.
Ready-to-wear changes everything
From the 1960s, ready-to-wear became the main business for most houses. Couture became the laboratory and the image-maker of the brand, funded by accessories, fragrance and prêt-à-porter.
Couture today
Today couture is global. Paris remains the centre, with official houses joined by guest designers from Asia, the Middle East and India. Couture weeks in India and elsewhere celebrate regional craft, and bridal couture is one of the strongest segments worldwide.
