Cover Photo Courtesy of CHANEL

Tomorrow, oh how special is tomorrow! With the much-anticipated Haute Couture Week starting, we are getting ready to get amazed by all that the participating fashion houses have in store for us. Trends and reveals that are as sophisticated as the vibes this week spreads across the globe and as fancy as the occasions that call for such creations. So, before the glam journey starts, let us take you through some mind-blowing facts about this special week of the year, where more is really more!

• To start with, there are less than 20 designers who qualify to show at the official Paris couture week. In fact, to be called a Haute Couture and to show during couture week, a fashion house must belong to the ‘Syndical Chamber of Haute Couture’.
• Each couture house must employ at least 15 people in its ateliers.
• Referred to as “Les Petites Mains” – which translates into “the little hands”, the seamstresses who are qualified to work on couture creations total 2,200 worldwide.
• Nowadays, only 2000 women globally wear couture designs and they are mostly public figures, while fashion’s golden age witnessed figures of 15,000 women opting for these sophisticated creations.
• A couture daywear outfit takes 100 hours of work approximately, while the creations rich in embroideries and embellishments can take up to 700 hours.
• A house must present at least 35 pieces in its Haute Couture collection, covering both daytime and evening wear.
• Couture creations are entirely finished by hand, without sewing and beading machines.
• Last but not least, if you think that the creations shown on the runways are for sale, you would be wrong! Couture fashion shows are for designers like an exhibition is for an artist. A couture piece is always made to measure with at least 3 fittings being made.

Article Written by Mirella Haddad