Created by: Marina Kim
DESIGNER STUDY GUIDE

* Haute couture “the finest needlework” * Paris became the center of haute couture because France has been the leading manufacturer of beautiful fabrics, including silks, taffetas, velvets, and brocade * Chambre Syndicale de la Couture de Paris was established in 1868. This was a professional body that was composed of haute couture houses and other firms that had made-to-measure dressmaking business in the Paris area. This union determined policy governing the fashion industry (such as copyright protection), establishing fair trading practices, organizing major biannual fashion shows, and acting as a mediator between the press and the fashion industry. * During the Depression years of 1930, it was necessary for the collection showings to be well-organized, pre-publicized, and spaced over a 12-day period. * Despite of the loss of profits, designers still create haute couture collections too publicize their designer brands or diffusion lines. * Le Bon Marche is one of the oldest and most influential grande magasins in Paris. They set the benchmarks that led the way to the modern development of mass merchandising *

* Some of Charles Worth’s clients were members of high society, royalty, and foreign aristocracy * Celebrities such as actors Sarah Bernhardt and Lillie Langtry publicized his gowns throughout Europe * As his gowns became more known, his gowns were sent overseas to England & America * Worth’s name became synonymous with Paris fashion * Belle Epoque, was a period that defined the end of the 19th century. * This time period was characterized by excessive luxury and grandeur * Paris fashion was considered too “fast” for upper-class women outside France * Some innovations: shortened the daytime walking dress to the ankle in the summer of 1860;