What are Haute Couture fashion shows?

The haute couture shows of the major luxury brands have just ended in Paris. Many critics and members of the public welcomed the creations on the catwalk with almost more enthusiasm than the ready-to-wear collections. Among the most successful shows, the one created by Alessandro Michele for Valentino stood out for its originality and beauty, just a few days after the death of the fashion house's founder.

But what are haute couture fashion shows and why does the fashion industry still feel the need to include them in its calendar? For the big brands, they represent the pinnacle of creativity, luxury and craftsmanship. Unlike standard collections, which are designed for large-scale production and sale in shops, Haute Couture is a world apart, reserved for an even smaller number of brands and even more exclusive customers.

The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode sets the strict criteria to be followed: in order to join this very exclusive club, a fashion house must, among other things, produce made-to-measure garments, have an atelier in Paris with a minimum number of specialised artisans and present two collections a year with at least fifty looks. In these fashion shows, free from the increasingly stringent dictates of the financial markets, creative directors seem to move more freely, giving free rein to their imagination and creativity, because the pieces they bring to the catwalk are often unique, with a value that can reach staggering figures and often require hours and hours of meticulous and detailed work.

Precisely for this reason, however, in such a complex historical moment, these shows seem to be places where art is expressed freely (even from the concept of wearability) and without restraint, amid precious materials, experimental fabrics and meticulous craftsmanship. Fashion houses such as Chanel, Dior and Schiaparelli, for example, have always used Haute Couture to express creative ideas and directions which then, in a more accessible form, influence prêt-à-porter.

Thus, despite the fact that the number of customers for whom they are intended worldwide appears to be very small, the impact of these fashion shows is actually enormous and vitally important for the allure and vision of the brand itself. That is why, today as in the past, they continue to fascinate and arouse curiosity among industry professionals and the social media audience.

Ph: Pierre Balmain e l'attrice Ruth Ford, foto di Carl Van Vechten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons