Haute Couture: Spring 2009
Jan. 29th, 2009 08:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zalenaCathy Horyn has a lovely article on Haute Couture in the times today:
The economic crisis doesn’t really scare the people who still practice haute couture, that small, vanishing world of embroiderers, dyers and feathermakers who serve the imagination of the few remaining couturiers. Asked if the economy was having an effect on the spring couture season, underway here, Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel said, “Only on the conversation....'
Horyn argues that the 'inviability' of couture has less to do with financials than it does a vanishing world of craft. The question is not whether or not there will still be fashion in the future, or even an interest in couture, but whether or not there will be designers and crafts persons who will still do it:
A decade ago, Pierre Bergé, the former chairman of Yves Saint Laurent, summed up the contemporary problem of couture when he called it “the opposite of a business.” Even though people recognize the marketing value of an extravagant couture show — to help promote and sell less costly products like sunglasses and perfume — they find it harder and harder to grasp its real value, which is to make exquisite, one-of-a-kind clothes using all the various needle crafts.
A decade from now, if there are more than two or three houses still producing twice-yearly haute couture collections, it will be surprising. The costs of skilled labor to make a dress or suit entirely by hand will be a factor in couture’s demise, but so will the supply of design know-how. Mr. Lagerfeld is in his early 70s.
I'm not sure I have a stance on this, but I will say it offers an excellent summation of why I enjoy couture. She also mentions another aspect of couture that is often invisible to anyone but hard core enthusiasts, which is the sense of history about a house. We've seen a lot of nostalgia or homage design in the past few seasons as everyone has celebrated various anniversaries, and Dior's collection this year definitely nods to the 'New Look' it pioneered in the post-war period: those belled skirts (interestingly stiff and architectural this season), cinched waists, and shawl collars. (Not to mention the broad-brimmed hats.)
But you know me. There are two designers I am always watching, and await their collections eagerly this season. Jean Paul Gautier, whose imagination and sense of texture continues to slay me. And Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein, though I'm naive enough not to know whether or not they have a couture line (I think not.)
Anyway, I thought this post might offer a nice distraction. Complete collections can be seen at Elle, though their new website is a little clunky. And, I will, of course, make note of any other interesting developments that come my way.
The economic crisis doesn’t really scare the people who still practice haute couture, that small, vanishing world of embroiderers, dyers and feathermakers who serve the imagination of the few remaining couturiers. Asked if the economy was having an effect on the spring couture season, underway here, Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel said, “Only on the conversation....'
Horyn argues that the 'inviability' of couture has less to do with financials than it does a vanishing world of craft. The question is not whether or not there will still be fashion in the future, or even an interest in couture, but whether or not there will be designers and crafts persons who will still do it:
A decade ago, Pierre Bergé, the former chairman of Yves Saint Laurent, summed up the contemporary problem of couture when he called it “the opposite of a business.” Even though people recognize the marketing value of an extravagant couture show — to help promote and sell less costly products like sunglasses and perfume — they find it harder and harder to grasp its real value, which is to make exquisite, one-of-a-kind clothes using all the various needle crafts.
A decade from now, if there are more than two or three houses still producing twice-yearly haute couture collections, it will be surprising. The costs of skilled labor to make a dress or suit entirely by hand will be a factor in couture’s demise, but so will the supply of design know-how. Mr. Lagerfeld is in his early 70s.
I'm not sure I have a stance on this, but I will say it offers an excellent summation of why I enjoy couture. She also mentions another aspect of couture that is often invisible to anyone but hard core enthusiasts, which is the sense of history about a house. We've seen a lot of nostalgia or homage design in the past few seasons as everyone has celebrated various anniversaries, and Dior's collection this year definitely nods to the 'New Look' it pioneered in the post-war period: those belled skirts (interestingly stiff and architectural this season), cinched waists, and shawl collars. (Not to mention the broad-brimmed hats.)
But you know me. There are two designers I am always watching, and await their collections eagerly this season. Jean Paul Gautier, whose imagination and sense of texture continues to slay me. And Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein, though I'm naive enough not to know whether or not they have a couture line (I think not.)
Anyway, I thought this post might offer a nice distraction. Complete collections can be seen at Elle, though their new website is a little clunky. And, I will, of course, make note of any other interesting developments that come my way.
