Haute Couture是地道的法国国粹，自1858年诞生，法国高级定制服已经有了近150年的历史。然而，享誉世界的巴黎高级定制服业的开山鼻祖却并非法国人，而是英国人——Charles Frederick Worth(查尔斯-弗雷里德-沃斯)
Haute 表示顶级
Couture 指女装缝制、刺绣等手工艺
"Haute Couture"代表着对艺术创作和传统手工制作工艺的顶礼膜拜，也代表着不厌其烦地专注在细节上。
高级定制服的精髓灵魂来自于独有的设计、精确的立体裁剪和精细的手工艺，所有工艺均由手工完成，一件衣服耗费的工时大概在一个月左右。
Haute Couture必须同时满足四个条件：
Ø 在巴黎设有工作室，能参加高级定制服女装协会举办的每年1月和7月的两次女装展示.
Ø 每次展示至少要有75件以上的设计是由首席设计师完成
Ø 常年雇用3个以上的专职模特
Ø 每个款式的服装件数极少并且基本由手工完成。
满足以上条件之后，还要由法国工业部审批核准，才能命名为“Haute Couture”。
Haute Couture 的起源：
1829年，Worth出生在英国东英格兰的林肯郡，在完成会计和纺织的专业学习之后，19岁的Worth揣上几个英镑独闯巴黎。两年后，他成为加热兰和奥匹日衣料店的售货员。这家位于黎塞留街的面料商店经营着当时最流行的闪光丝绸和纱绸，因为货品丰富质量上乘而备受女士推崇，她们经常从《贵妇人》、《贵族小姐》等时尚杂志上选择心仪的款式，然后到面料店选购面料，当然也顺便咨询一些修改意见，比如，怎样在款式的基础上增减细节让身材更加优美呀？应该配上什么样的蕾丝、蝴蝶结呀等等，每当这时，Worth便充分发挥其设计才干，他的建议是那么体贴又富有创意，深得女士们的信赖。渐渐地，他开始设计整套裙子，每条裙子都有独一无二的特点，让女人爱不释手，他的新款设计经常出现在时尚杂志上。
1851年，Worth设计的女装在英国举办的世界博览会上获得了一等奖，随后，在瑞典资本家Otto Bobergh(奥特-保贝尔格)的资助下，Worth开设了以他个人名字命名的时装店，专门为上层女性定制服装。这是历史上第一个高级定制时装屋，Worth首次以时装设计师而非传统裁缝的身份出现在世人面前。当他的设计得到法国皇后的青睐之后，更是声名远播。世界各地的皇室贵族趋之若鹜，不但为服装的高昂价格欣然买单，更为拥有Worth设计的服装而深感自豪。
巴黎第一个高级定制服设计师的权威组织，也就是现在的高级定制时装协会，对高级定制服装店的规模、技术条件、发布会细节等做了严格规定。时隔百年，巴黎高级定制服装店至今还遵守着这些传统。
Haute couture (French for 'high sewing' or 'high dressmaking'; IPA: ˈot kuˈtur) is a common term for custom-fitted clothing as produced in Paris and imitated in other fashion capitals such as New York, London, and Milan. Haute couture is not only made-to-order for a specific customer, it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming hand-executed techniques. Sometimes the term is used only to refer to French fashion; at other times it refers to any unique stylish design made to order for wealthy and high-status clients.
the fashion houses or fashion designers that create exclusive and often trend-setting fashions
the fashions created
In France, the label "haute couture" is a protected appellation. A certain number of formal criteria (number of employees, participation in fashion shows...) must be met for a fashion house to use the label; a list of eligible houses is made official every year by the French Ministry of Industry. The haute couture houses belong to the professional union, the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.
The French term for ready-to-wear (not custom fitted) fashion is prêt-à-porter. Every haute couture house also markets prêt-à-porter collections, which typically deliver a higher return on investment than their custom clothing. In fact, much of the haute couture displayed at fashion shows today is never sold at all; it is created to enhance the good name of the house. Failing revenues have forced a few couture houses to abandon their less profitable couture division and concentrate solely on the less prestigious prêt-à-porter. These houses are no longer haute couture.
History
French leadership in European fashion may perhaps be dated from the 18th century, when the art, architecture, music, and fashions of the French court at Versailles were imitated across Europe. Visitors to Paris brought back clothing that was then copied by local dressmakers. Stylish women also ordered fashion dolls from Paris – dolls dressed in the latest Parisian fashions, to serve as models.
As railroads and steamships made European travel easier, it was increasingly common for wealthy women to travel to Paris to shop for clothing and accessories. French fitters and seamstresses were commonly thought to be the best in Europe, and real Parisian garments were considered better than local imitations. The first couturier to establish international dominance was Charles Frederick Worth (1826-1895). Even New York socialites crossed the Atlantic Ocean to order clothes from Worth.
Following in Worth's footsteps were: Callot Soeurs, Patou, Poiret, Vionnet, Fortuny, Lanvin, Chanel, Mainbocher, Schiaparelli, Balenciaga, and Dior. Some of these fashion houses still exist today, under the leadership of modern designers.
In the 1960s a group of young designers who had trained under men like Dior and Balenciaga left these established couture houses and opened their own establishments. The most successful of these young men were Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin, André Courrèges, and Emmanuel Ungaro.
Lacroix is perhaps the most successful of the fashion houses to have been started in the last decade.
For all these fashion houses, custom clothing is no longer the main source of income, often costing much more than it earns through direct sales; it only adds the aura of fashion to their ventures in ready-to-wear clothing and related luxury products such as shoes and perfumes, and licensing ventures that make the real money. Excessive commercialization and profit-making can be damaging, however. Cardin, for example, licensed with abandon in the 1980s and his name lost most of its fashionable cachet when anyone could buy Cardin luggage at a discount store.
