Read an extract from The Illustrated World of Couture by Megan Hess

Megan Hess was destined to draw. An initial career in graphic design evolved into art direction for some of the world’s leading design agencies. In 2008, Hess illustrated the New York Times number-one selling book Sex and the City, written by Candace Bushnell. She has since illustrated portraits for Vanity Fair and The New York Times, created animations for Prada in Milan, and illustrated the windows of Bergdorf Goodman in New York. Megan has also illustrated live for bespoke fashion shows around the world including Fendi at Milan Fashion Week, Viktor & Rolf and Christian Dior Couture. Her other renowned clients include Givenchy, Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, Montblanc, Yves Saint Laurent, Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Prada and Cartier.

Megan is the author of numerous bestselling fashion books and picture books for children. Her latest book is The Illustrated World of Couture, an essential volume for all fashion devotees. Scroll down to read a short extract and check out some of Megan’s stunning illustrations!

HAUTE COUTURE

NOUN, FRENCH: ‘HIGH FASHION’

The couture collection for any design house is its premier offering. Shown just twice a year, Spring-Summer and Autumn-Winter, these collections represent the pinnacle of fashion.

Technically, to be couture is to be one-of-a-kind, made by hand and to measure for an individual client. It is in contrast to pret-a-porter, or ready-to-wear, which can be reproduced multiple times in standard sizes and purchased off the rack.

True haute couture, though, is more than just intricate clothes made to measure by hand. It is actually an exclusive designation protected by law and regulated by a governing body in the home of fashion, France.

In order to receive certification and call their work haute couture, a house must be officially invited onto the schedule at Paris Fashion Week by the couture arm of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode: the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. There are only two dozen or so designers invited each year and half of those are there only as guests. Full members must have an atelier in France, but correspondent membership is offered to some foreign houses.

The Chambre Syndicale has strict rules for what constitutes haute couture. To even be considered, a house must create two made-to-measure collections a year, each with a minimum number of looks. They must have a certain number of staff and maintain an atelier in Paris where they offer private fittings for clients.

The full set of rules have never been made public, but the Chambre Syndicale did once release a delightfully mysterious list of five requirements such as ‘excellence in handmade and tailor-made production’ and ‘participation in parades of the profession’. The final requirement? Permanence de ces engagements – ‘permanence of these commitments’. Couture is made to last a lifetime, or maybe many lifetimes, so it seems fitting that there is an expectation for couture houses to uphold standards season after season.

CHAMBRE SYNDICALE de la HAUTE COUTURE

01. Conception de la collection par un créateur permanent

Collection design by a permanent designer

02. Excellence de la réalisation fait main et sur mesure au sein de l’entreprise

Excellence in handmade and tailor-made production within the company

03. Taille minimale de l’entreprise

Minimum business size

04. Participation aux délés de la profession

Participation in parades of the profession

05. Permanence de ces engagements

Permanence of these commitments

–This is an edited extract from The Illustrated World of Couture by Megan Hess (Hardie Grant Books), out on the 7th of October.

The Illustrated World of Couture

by Megan Hess

Hundreds of hours, many expert hands and unimaginable metres of fabric: couture is truly wearable art, where creativity and craftsmanship collide. Megan Hess has spent her career documenting fashion’s most beautiful people, places and pieces. In The Illustrated World of Couture, she brings to life its most important – and intriguing – art form, with fascinating insights and exceptional illustrations.

Worn by only a handful of people worldwide, couture still has incredible influence, even beyond the traditional ...

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