PARIS — A magical, parallel and restricted world. With its embroidery, thousands of crystals, lace, princess gowns requiring hundreds of hours of work, haute couture is still unique, a space of creation and activity unattainable for ordinary mortals. A dream for some, folklore for others: “Really, the dresses on the catwalk aren’t always for sale?”, or “What’s the difference between ready-to wear and haute couture?”
In recent years, the term “haute couture” has often been used as a selling point. First, by the fashion industry (from the launch of perfumes or bags stamped “haute couture”), then by the art scene, gastronomy or even travel agencies, which attach the two words to their shows, menus or tours to signify a “premium” experience. On Instagram, the hashtag #hautecouture (9.6 million results) rarely shows anything corresponding to its precise definition.
Indeed, haute couture is both a label — with its own manufacturing criteria— and a full-fledged business in the luxury goods industry, representing $11.5 billion in 2023, according to the American study “Global Haute Couture Market” by Data Int.
It’s also a market that relies greatly on skilled craftsmen and craftswomen. A sector that is both booming — supported by major groups and France’s Ministries of Culture and Craft — and struggling. According to numbers released by the Comité Colbert, a group to promote the concept of luxury, there are still 20,000 vacancies in this sector in France.
A French invention
The other structural element of haute couture is a sense of personalized service targeting an ultra-rich clientele. This is inherited both in the beginnings of couture and the “art of living” trend pursued by major luxury brands in recent years.
Fashion houses are deploying increasingly exclusive and tailor-made initiatives to maintain contact with their clients. Examples include beach clubs during the summer season (such as Fendi and the Puente Romano Beach Resort in Marbella, Dior and the Shellona Beach in Saint-Tropez), branded hotel nights (like Louis Vuitton’s future 6,000 square meter address on the Champs-Elysées, set to open in 2026) and invitations to private events (dinners, exhibitions, visits to exclusive sites) featuring Michelin-starred chefs, art historians, gallery owners or renowned artists.
To fully understand today’s world of haute couture, it’s important to go back to its origins, starting in 1858. That year, in Paris, the English-born designer Charles Frederick Worth revolutionized fashion by offering the most affluent clients collections that included one-of-a-kind, custom-made pieces.
“Haute couture is not just an empty word.”
“Faced with the rise of mass consumption, his vision was both business and creative. Worth invented a new model, selling exceptional clothes to a demanding clientele. The French couturier became an artist, and his creations, works of art,” explains Emilie Hammen, researcher and author of the book The Crafts of Fashion.
After World War II, France’s industry ministry set a precise framework. “Haute couture is not just an empty word. It’s a label that responds to very clear statutes, inherited from a 1945 decree. For the most part, we’re talking about garments tailor-made, by hand, in Parisian workshops, and presented in Paris as part of the biannual Haute Couture Week,” says Pascal Morand, Executive President of France’s Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion.
Another tacit prerogative is guaranteeing the exclusivity of these exceptional pieces. Fashion houses have every interest in avoiding diplomatic incidents between customers, and therefore only making one copy of each model for each geographical area.
From independent creators to luxury giants
Haute Couture Week has three types of members. “We distinguish full-fledged haute couture members, corresponding members who do not have workshops in Paris, and invited members, who participate each season and are selected by the couture committee,” Morand explains.
Yet not all houses have the same means.
Italian designer Giorgio Armani, a corresponding member, has been showcasing his Armani Privé line in Paris since 2005. “For me, haute couture is the highest expression of the qualities that make fashion unique: fantasy and craftsmanship,” Armani says. “These are beautifully crafted dresses, intended to be worn for years. It is undoubtedly an elite product with which I can experiment with new techniques and skills. It’s an experience that has become one of my favorite professional moments, a burst of creativity.”
The most recent Haute Couture Week, which closed on Jan. 25 in Paris, featured 10 full-fledged members (including Dior, Chanel, Schiaparelli, Maison Margiela, Alexis Mabille, Stéphane Rolland, Franck Sorbier), five corresponding members (Fendi, Valentino, Armani Privé, Viktor and Rolf, and Elie Saab), and 14 guests (such as Julie de Libran, Ronald van der Kemp, Rahul Mishra anf Imane Ayissi).
From the models to the sets to front-row stars (this season saw Rihanna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Glenn Close, Kylie Jenner and her sister Kim Kardashian, etc.), the brands’ goal is clear: to make dreams come true. Yet not all houses have the same means. In the shadow of powerful brands, structures such as Alexis Mabille or Julie de Libran cannot compete. Savings are made on the show’s scenography, the number of “walks,” models, and the invited — and paid — stars.
Throughout the year, these independent designers take various steps to financially secure their haute couture activity: like Alexis Mabille’s furniture collection or Julie de Libran’s collaboration with the French retailer La Redoute. While the balance is often precarious for independent structures, it’s a different matter for large brands for which haute couture also has a strategic function.
For all couture houses, the golden rule is the anonymity of their clients.
“The aura of these exceptional collections reflects on all the other activities of major fashion houses that also produce ready-to-wear and allows them to sell other categories of products with higher margins, such as bags, glasses, or perfumes,” says Franck Delpal, economist and professor at the French Institute of Fashion.
Anonymity and secrets well kept
For all couture houses, big or small, the golden rule is the anonymity of their clients. Not only because this market is highly competitive, but also because the amounts spent are astronomical.
“The price of a piece of haute couture depends on the number of hours of work and rarely falls below 50,000 euros (,000). It reflects an extremely meticulous craftsmanship that aims for perfection; it takes a minimum of four to five months of work in our workshops to create a haute couture outfit,” says Chanel President of Fashion Bruno Pavlovsky.
At Balenciaga, the only house to display the prices of haute couture creations on the Internet, entry level prices are around 40,000 euros (43,000$). A strapless tulle dress that required nearly 160 hours of work costs 100,000 euros (8,000). With the exceptions of Chanel and Balenciaga, few fashion houses communicate on their prices.
“Data on revenue, number of clients, their geographical distribution, etc. is kept confidential. Haute couture is a very particular market that involves a form of intimacy with clients, hence the secrecy,” Morand says. To know who these clients are, one must content themselves with observing them during the shows.
Covered from head to toe in the brand’s colors, these wealthy women (and some men) attract attention. But for those who are not part of this world, it’s difficult to name these heiresses of great industrial families, art world fortunes, businesswomen, wives of wealthy husbands often accompanied by their daughters. More discreet than the celebrities seated in the front row beside them, these are the clients who perpetuate haute couture.
“Haute couture clients often navigate between several houses. They have no exclusivity.”
At Schiaparelli, they pose in black and gold in front of the golden photocall, accompanied by their personal photo-video-makeup teams. These image professionals are there to document the dream week of these clients who cycle through fashion shows and Parisian parties. At the Rodin Museum, at Dior, some are seen elsewhere, sporting iconic pieces of the house: Bar jackets, Lady Dior, Saddle or Book Tote bags in hand. At Armani, several leave with the most Instagrammable photo of the week: a selfie with Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue.
And at Chanel, where there is a noticeable concentration of quilted bags and tweed suits (often embellished with pearls and crystals), the focus is also on creating memories. Phones in hand, clients take turns taking photos in front of one of the elements of the set (a pair of giant scissors or a button). At each fashion show, they change aesthetics, style, and personalities.
“Haute couture clients often navigate between several houses. They have no exclusivity,” says Delpal of the French Institute of Fashion. “In the early 2000s, there were about 200 clients worldwide. Today, there are several thousands. New markets have emerged, especially in the Middle East and Asia. Not to mention the historical clientele in Europe and the United States.”
That trend is confirmed by a Dior spokesperson: “The house has a large number of haute couture clients on all continents, and this number continues to grow.”
Exclusive service around the world
In this world, nothing is ever too beautiful or too complicated to satisfy clients. Organizing a fitting in a hotel, adapting to the client’s schedule, accompanying someone to an exceptional — anything is possible!
Chanel fitting sessions often take place in the dedicated salons on rue Cambon in Paris: “Some clients love this ritual, while others want to go faster and prefer we come to them; not all clients come to Paris. After the show, they receive specific dossiers to discover the collection, then they ask questions about the models they are interested in. Then, either they come to Paris when they have the opportunity, or we go to them; we adapt to their schedule, it’s part of the experience.”
The notion of sharing, intimacy and pleasure is very important during fashion week but also throughout the year.
Dior’s nerve enter is at 30 Avenue Montaigne, one of Paris’s main fashion streets. “Fittings take place in our iconic salons, as well as in the VIP salons of our boutiques worldwide, or directly in our clients’ homes. A first workshop assistant is always present to ensure the smooth running of the session and to meet every expectation, in a spirit of excellence that only haute couture can embody,” a spokesperson says. Sometimes the house’s creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, even attends this magical moment.
Houses are less reluctant to communicate on these moments than on prices or clients’ identities. “Our sales advisors know their tastes and desires perfectly. The notion of sharing, intimacy and pleasure is very important during fashion week but also throughout the year. I remember a client who was moved to tears because we had invited a jazz group just for her. Others love to share a friendly lunch in a good Parisian bistro, not necessarily in a palace. These are very personal moments,” says Schiaparelli’s Delphine Bellini.
Haute couture plays a key role in the legitimacy of the big fashion houses and radiates onto all other sectors.
At Fendi, the World of Fendi event serves as a seduction operation for VICs (Very Important Clients): “Immediately after each haute couture show, the collection travels to different parts of the world — China, Japan, Korea, America, Europe — and we present the collection in exceptional places where we also organize dinners.”
The future of luxury
Beyond the dream and the image, is contemporary haute couture a profitable business? “The economic model is not simple,” Delpal explains: “Very few pieces are developed, they are all tailored to the clients’ measurements and require hours of work and a very significant human investment. For large houses like Dior and Chanel, haute couture represents about 1% of the overall turnover, and there is no intention to make it a profitable activity. But it plays a key role in the legitimacy of the big fashion houses and radiates onto all other sectors.”
But will the unique activity continue? “With haute couture, we are far from the moment when robots or artificial intelligence can intervene. While they imitate arm movements very well — more on rigid materials than flexible ones — they cannot reproduce finger movements, the complexity of the hand. It’s impossible to replace the exceptional work of skilled craftsmen and workshop heads,” Morand concludes. So, could a new golden age be upon us?
