French for sewing or dressmaking; in fashion, often used for specially made, carefully constructed clothing.
In French, couture is first sewing: joining pieces of cloth with a line of regular stitches, and the seam that results. It is also the trade of making clothes, chiefly women’s, as in maison de couture, a couture house. English uses the word for the design and production of expensive, fashionable clothes, and for the clothes themselves, as in a couture evening dress. A French listing that asks for couture may therefore mean sewing as a skill.
Haute couture has a more specific meaning: it is a controlled French designation, granted each year by the Minister of Industry to houses selected by a commission created within what is now the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. The word couture alone does not establish that status. Luxury prêt-à-porter, made in industrial series, is a different category again.
In job listings
Couture appears in product development, workshop and client relationship titles. Some come from houses that are not on the haute couture list, so a couture title does not by itself mean the house holds the designation. In a French listing it may simply mean sewing. See current couture roles.
