OpEd: Does couture still have relevance?

Used to be that a designer put out his couture line as his vision, the ultimate expression of his work. These design-significant garments crafted the excitement of the line. They sold to the rich and famous. They were worn when one wanted to be seen. The couture garments were not the designer’s bread and butter. Their intricate technical aspects could not be put into mass production, but the excitement they caused trickled down to ready-to-wear in a big way. And ka-ching! There, money was made.

Consider the House of Lanvin. In 1927, couturier Jeanne Lanvin created the perfume Arpege dedicated to her daughter Marguerite. This maternal love is represented by the perfume's emblem, inspired by a 1907 picture, showing Jeanne and her daughter going to a ball. The emblem became the symbol for the entire House.

The imagery was significant of its time. Yet no longer does the style of the wealthiest few trickle down to the masses. (And, no longer does Lanvin create beautiful mother-daughter garments. Maybe now’s a time to rethink that…)

In France, the label "haute couture" is a protected appellation. Here, we use the term loosely. With quips referring to apparel being “too couture” on Project Runway, it’s apparent that making commercially salable product supercedes designer “vision.”

According to longtime fashion journalist Janie Samet, “Haute couture will have to find other means if it is to endure, for only fashion empires can afford the luxury of collections worth eight million francs* for one hundred dresses. Today, it is virtually unthinkable for a young couturier to create an empire from scratch.”

The once impregnable fortress of haute couture has become an open forum where hype is the new order as everyone claims their 15 minutes of fame and strives to be dressed for the occasion.

This from Newsday:

[Oscar] de la Renta, in his eighth decade, simply reinvented himself, ditching the stuffy ladies-who-lunch look for a younger, hippier vibe that's left celebs and celebutantes clamoring for more, more, more.

Lagerfeld debuted his new "moderately priced" Karl Lagerfeld collection. It's a line so hyped that Apple is offering a free podcast on iTunes.

In the fifties and sixties, the press was subject to a "release date," which forbade any picture or drawing of the latest models for two to three months after their presentation.

Swarovski, known for its elegant crystals, also has worked to fuel its brand by partnering with forward-thinking Revolution Eyewear to keep brand relevant and visible.

Moving forward, even for a couturier, requires a more collaborative approach. Gone are the days of salon-only viewings and genteel culture. Collaboration has given ready-to-wear stars a leg up on the market. 

No longer is couture about a trickling lifestyle from mother to daughter, it’s about youth. It’s about the hot young surfer or pop star. Couture, in its broadest sense, is about apparel that reaffirms its wearer as being different enough and nouveau riche enough.

For example, consider Tara Subkoff as profiled in New York magazine. Often described as "painfully hip," the Imitation of Christ line is created by Tara Subkoff, arts school dropout cum indie darling. The label aims to "transform undesirables into desirables;" in other words, to restore old pieces of clothing into beautiful, fashionable new ones. IOC continues to expand its horizons, having recently participated in a gallery opening, staging a circus in which models hung from a trapeze. Subkoff will soon be collaborating with the old couture house Capucci to design a collection for the brand's re-launch. The force behind IOC is a creative collective of designers who proclaim themselves "social engineers" and who have garnered the love of fashionistas since their 2000 launch in an East Village funeral parlor.

Subkoff recently joined forces with footwear brand Easy Spirit. Her indie cred comes at a price. The shoes are more expensive than your typical Easy Spirit pump; whimsical wedges cost $240, and slouchy suede boots go for $420.

Photo: Christian Lacroix Couture, Spring 2006