| Fashion is an art reflecting life. Every now and then we hear the names of Valentino, Pierre Cardin, Givenchy, Giorgio Armani etc. There designers have a great impact 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.A fashion calendar includes several very significant events known as fashion weeks. Fashion weeks are held each season for fashion designers to display their latest collections in runway shows and for fashion to see the latest trends. Most importantly, they show the industry what is in and what is out for the season. The most impressive fashion weeks are organized in the fashion capitals, including Milan, London, New York and Paris where luxury clothes (also known as haute couture) are displayed.Haute Couture is a French phrase for expensive and fashionable clothes. Couture stands for dressmaking, sewing, or needlework and haute denotes refined. Haute couture clothes are made for a specific client from high-quality, expensive fabrics and sewn by hand normally using time-consuming techniques. Therefore, couture clothes are luxurious and exclusive.Dependent on the haute couture fashion house and the garment, the cost of a couture item ranges from $10, 000 for a blouse to $40, 000 and commonly beyond that sum. The price includes payments for the service, work, an exclusive design and splendid materials of the finest quality.In addition, every client will receive a garment to fit them perfectly. It takes about 100-150 hours to produce a handmade luxuty suit and up to 1000 hours for an evening dress embroidered with thousands of beads sewed by hand. A couture house like Chanel, for example, will have approximately 150 regular customers ordering couture items, and a couture house like Dior will make approximately twenty couture wedding gowns annually.Alongside clothes, renowned couture houses make exclusive luxurious accessories, such as hats, buttons, belts, jewelry, shoes, handbags. Those who can afford luxury garments, pay for exclusivity and the privacy offered by the system. |
