F-NEWS Editor's Pick
Look but don't touch: Haute couture gets more elaborate...and more expensive
If there is a single unifying factor underpinning a decidedly disparate summer season then it lies in a renewed interest in surface texture: in pioneering fabrics, embroideries and over-embroideries which appear more intricate and interesting than they have done for some time.
Such indulgence – and some might call it pure fashion whimsy – was once the preserve of the haute couture ateliers. Now however, and increasingly, it is making its presence felt in the ready-to-wear collections too.
As is often the way, it might be argued that it all started with Chanel. Ten years ago now, this famous French name bought six of the most revered couture ateliers in Paris, saving them, the story goes, from extinction. Given that at the turn of the 20th century there were around 500 such workshops up and running, specialists in everything from buttons to bows, and that today no more than a handful remain, that may well be true. Chanel bought Lesage (master embroiderers), Lemarie (specialist in feathers), Massaro (shoe makers responsible, among other things, for the Chanel two-tone pump), Goossens, (goldsmiths), Desrues (costume-jewellery makers), Maison Michel (milliners) and Guillet (creator of fabric flowers). And their names were news once more.
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Such indulgence – and some might call it pure fashion whimsy – was once the preserve of the haute couture ateliers. Now however, and increasingly, it is making its presence felt in the ready-to-wear collections too.
As is often the way, it might be argued that it all started with Chanel. Ten years ago now, this famous French name bought six of the most revered couture ateliers in Paris, saving them, the story goes, from extinction. Given that at the turn of the 20th century there were around 500 such workshops up and running, specialists in everything from buttons to bows, and that today no more than a handful remain, that may well be true. Chanel bought Lesage (master embroiderers), Lemarie (specialist in feathers), Massaro (shoe makers responsible, among other things, for the Chanel two-tone pump), Goossens, (goldsmiths), Desrues (costume-jewellery makers), Maison Michel (milliners) and Guillet (creator of fabric flowers). And their names were news once more.
Continue Reading »
