Haute Couture Research

Since its establishment in the mid nineteenth century, haute couture has not only served as a symbol of status and convention for the imperial court and “high society”, but the underlaying foundation of the burgeoning production, consumption and dissemination of fashion. In 1858, the creation of the House of Worth, along with the faithful support of Princess Pauline von Metternich and Empress Eugénie, positioned Paris as the leading capital of fashion. The initial production of copies of the Empress’ couture dresses flourished as the Parisienne style circulated around Europe, followed by America, which prompted the development of ready to wear fashions. Although the popularity of haute couture was not sustained until the modern day, the works produced from labour intensive and time consuming tasks have continuously influenced the fashion of nowadays. Particular traditions of haute couture, such as the concept of showing garments on live models has developed into a norm, and have majorly impacted upon the consumption, production methods and circulation of fashion.

The production of fashion immediately succeeding the establishment of haute couture which was ‘[strongly married] to the values of that particular aristocratic society’ (Aspelund 2009, p.18) was dominantly reliant on the fashions of the royal court. Occurring simultaneously with the restoration of an imperial house in 1852, Worth’s work was favoured by the new emperor, Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie who was introduced by the Viennese Princess Pauline von Metternich. The presentation of designs on live models in Worth’s atelier attracted women of high society and the empress herself as it allowed the vision of the garments’ cut, movement and style on a live pers...

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...rk of hierarchy within the royal court, haute couture was brought to life through the founding of the House of Worth which lead to the successful production of luxury goods and ultimately the starting point of prêt-à-porter. The recreation of couture garments reflecting the dress of Parisienne court was disseminated across Europe through the use of ‘Pandora’ dolls and eventually paper patterns. However, as technology and new methods of production, such as industrial machines rapidly changed throughout the second half of the 20th century, the arduous tasks of creating haute couture garments and its demand diminished, leaving ready to wear to control the fashion industry. Nevertheless, haute couture will always be the paragon of skilled craftsmanship and tailoring that has influenced the consumption, production and dissemination of fashion since its establishment.