A controlled French designation for fashion houses meeting specific requirements for made-to-order clothing and its presentation.
Haute couture is a protected designation. Under a decree of 23 January 1945 and an arrêté of 6 April 1945, the French Minister of Industry approves, each year, the houses entitled to use the names Haute Couture, Couture Création and Grand Couturier. Houses are selected by the Commission de Contrôle et de Classement Couture Création, created within what is now the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.
The Ministry of Culture’s inventory, written by the Fédération, summarizes the rules. Models are original, designed only by the house’s permanent creative director and made entirely to measure in ateliers in France, with at least 20 employees working on the collection. Each piece made for a client has at least one or two fittings on the client or on a form made to the client’s measurements. Each season the house shows in Paris a collection of at least 25 passages. Corresponding members, whose ateliers are outside France, show during Haute Couture Week without the designation. Couture alone does not establish the status.
In job listings
Haute couture appears in studio, wardrobe and product development titles at Paris houses, and in alterations roles that handle haute couture garments. Other listings mention it only in describing a house, so read the duties to see whether the role touches the collection. See current haute couture roles.
