The Couture House: More than the Name

Gentle Reader -

Surely you've not been fooled by equity firms (among others) who have acquired the names of once-great couture houses.

The fashion collections produced by these half-dead houses, while on-trend, is less than stellar - and certainly does not live up to the standards of those same names sewn inside of the clothing.

It would be too easy - and too unkind - to list the many Parisian fashion houses here. However, it is more instructive to give one successful example:

Balenciaga under Monsieur G.


Balenciaga no longer produces haute couture (such as the vintage example above), but remains edgy, at the forefront of fashion. Certainly the clothing is much different than when Cristobal himself presided, but the spirit of the house remains. Why? Here are some thoughts for those fashion executives overseeing the number-crunching:

1. To own a fashion house, you must know fashion. La mode is not the same as producing lacquered pens. Fashion is a part of luxury, but requires spirit. This is powerful - and can be dangerous. Lagerfeld himself has on more than one occasion referred to Mademoiselle's ghost.

2. A designer is more than an employee. Or at least should be. The designer is that person who should give life to a house. I can't say how a designer breathes life to the fashion created, but there is a difference between clothing with life - and mere clothing. A replaceable employee is often loathe to give more than technical ability. Often, ideas are withheld as well, to say nothing of dreams and one's own essence.

3. Trends are not meant to be followed, but played with. In the current era of Big Fashion, everything seems to be reduced to the Numbers. And the Numbers are afraid of not creating profit. And so the Numbers direct the designer-employee to be as on-trend as possible.

Trends exist, but it is a designer's ability to play with trends - emphasizing here, diminishing (or discarding) there - that produces vibrant fashion. Color, proportion, embellishment and fabrication: the designer should be in control.

4. Visit (or create) the archive. Houses with storied-pasts require trips though those pasts. Recreate the story. Reinvent the story. The fashion label was bought for a reason, so use what is already on hand. Clean breaks from a couture house's history were once new and revolutionary, but by now it is a cliche. Use what is on hand.

- AP