Then, from Monday, haute couture will take over. Haute couture is a protected appellation in France, awarded on strict criteria including the amount of work carried out by hand and in-house, and the share of pieces made-to-measure.
Two new houses won the coveted status in December. Alexis Mabille and Maison Martin Margiela will present their women's spring-summer collections alongside Raf Simons for Dior, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, as well as Jean Paul Gaultier, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Versace and Elie Saab.
One notable absentee will be Givenchy and its artistic director Riccardo Tisci. The house, which belongs to the LVMH galaxy, has announced that there will be no catwalk or showroom and spoken of the need to “take a breath”.
While major fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent and Lanvin have stopped couture in order to concentrate on luxury ready-to-wear, Givenchy says there is no question of it bowing out of couture or closing.
Eleven others including the emerging Bouchra Jarrar of France, Yiqing Yin of China and the French duo Lefranc.Ferrant, will take part as invitees, under an arrangement that allows other houses a share of the limelight.
Designer Herve L. Leroux, who shot to fame in the 1990s for his bandage dresses under his original name Herve Leger before losing the right to use his name, meanwhile, will present his collection on mannequins in his workshop, an economic option that also allows journalists and buyers to see the painstaking workmanship up close.
