A Stitch In Time 28/11/07 15:09 Page 153
here is nothing in the fashion world to compare with an that this is what makes couture unique. Most opt for a simpler
T
haute couture show for magic and romance. The big- version to suit even the most exotic of daily lives, for show
name spring season collections, shown in the darkest, clothes are intended as the greatest expression of unfettered
coldest days of January, were a case in point: an instant imagination, with no regard to the constraints of budgets or
transport to another world of light, beauty and grace. Valentino hours: the fabled “laboratory of ideas” which feeds inspiration to
looked back to his own all-white 1968 collection to produce the lowlier commercial needs of ready-to-wear and accessories.
clothes of today that are so delicate, so ethereally decorated in For the past half-century this aspect, and the associated role
shades of ivory, cream and the palest pearl grey, that they look of gaining publicity for the house’s more humdrum products
as if the slightest breeze would blow them away. through sheer spectacle, has gained in importance over a
At Christian Dior, John Galliano celebrated ten years of tenure dwindling client base, and made the industry seem less genuine
at a traditional house where few thought this most wildly and more a puffed-up, celebrity-driven anachronism. By the
imaginative of British designers would last, and yet is now so millennium, when 300 was the usual guess for the number of
plainly in his pomp, by magisterially marrying Madame Butterfly couture clients worldwide (ie, those who actually hand over
to Christian Dior’s original New Look of 1947, with full-skirted, money to own clothes, rather than the high-profile names who
nipped-waist dresses, kimonos and samurai shoulders, are loaned or gifted garments to wear on the red carpet),
all sporting untold hours of workmanship from the best there was concern for couture’s future, not least among the
embroiderers and cutters in the world. 4,000 or so workers in Paris’s remaining ateliers, some of whom
At Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld trod a stylish tightrope between turned to the rising “demi-couture” collections – where special,
linear 1960’s-inspired shapes – very short and trimmed with often highly embellished, outfits are made to order, though not
patent or feathers, or long with glittering strips of shimmying to measure or with fittings as in haute couture tradition.
fabric, and the historic silhouettes When Yves St Laurent retired in 2002, his business partner
– curvy frockcoats and demure, full-skirted tulle Pierre Bergé forecast the industry’s demise within seasons.
frocks – that he has always loved. Christian Lacroix It would be interesting to know his views today, for a change
marked 20 years of couture by a glance at the is gathering pace which should assure the future of couture,
puffball shapes with which he blazed on to the at least in its lean, mean, modern form. With the communications
scene in 1987 and which look so right for today, revolution making women all over the world aware of couture
in a riot of abstract florals, citrus shades and and pockets of affluence in every culture and society, the shows
topical volume in his silhouettes. are being reclaimed for the client.
Jean Paul Gaultier daringly took religious icons This was apparent nowhere more eloquently than at Dior,
as his theme for a collection that could so easily where the usual razzmatazz showbiz event for 1,000 guests
have veered into bad taste and yet – complete with was replaced with an intimate gathering for 300, and at
fretted golden haloes, lace veils and embroidered Valentino, where a cleverly arranged venue meant there were
angels – was achingly beautiful and sweetly only two rows of guests, so everyone was almost within
charming, even if it may all have been a witty pun touching distance of the clothes. The idea is
on his most famous client, Madonna. And Giorgio
CHANEL
that the client should be able to appreciate the
Armani, a three-season novice among this rarefied fine detail of clothes she might order,
company with his fledgling Privé couture rather than watching a distant, headline-
collection, turned to the elegant attitude of Indian grabbing spectacle.
maharajahs for a collection of restrained opulence, And order they do. Celebrities, who make
with silks draped over polished silver scimitar trims, good press coverage, still come, but the clients,
palest green jade adorning necks and shoulders who prefer to be lower key, are becoming more
like Moghul gems, and graceful tunics in rich ARMANI visible and more varied. Guests included ladies
brocade over narrow trousers, all in a disciplined in bead-spangled Middle Eastern headscarves,
colour palette of misty neutrals, black and white. bejewelled Russian blondes, expertly facelifted
So no wonder that, for over a century, wealthy Americans of a certain age and tiny, elegant
women have been seduced by these real-life Orientals. No region is dominant, say Chanel,
fantasies. Amanda Harlech, Karl Lagerfeld’s who have so many couture clients that they
right-hand woman, says, “It’s for a few women recently opened a new workroom. “We have to
to have something unique and mysterious – keep going for a true clientele, some faithful but
something intrinsically refined – it never dates also many new ones”, says Karl Lagerfeld.
and as long as you fit the dress you will always Christian Lacroix agrees – from being in a
be able to tap into that magic.” situation where he was kept afloat by wedding
The idea that you can command one of these dresses, he now has, he says, “more clients
luscious creations to be handmade expressly for arriving every year.” Armani has a wide spread
your shape, and then not be granted to any other
DIOR
of clients, from Europe, America, Russia and the
woman, is the ultimate high in the drive for ever Middle East. Valentino has had perhaps the greatest success in
more individuality and exclusivity. There are few better ways to crossing the age gap, in some cases dressing both elegant
express superior status in wealth and taste. mature women and their twentysomething daughters.
Even better, you can ask for design changes to suit yourself At a time when super-exclusivity is the holy grail of luxury
– as Galliano says, “The catwalk collection is an invitation to goods, the new appeal of couture is obvious. I caught up with
the client” – and have these alterations made by the fashion British socialite Daphne Guinness viewing the Lacroix show,
world’s finest creative minds. Experienced clients understand dressed in a beautifully fitted Chanel tweed jacket with delicately
ARMANI
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