Pakistani 'Couture'?

Pakistani ‘Couture’?

Printed in "The Post"---Eyecandy Magazine
14th August, 2005----Station Chaos Column
&
Printed in "Instep" ---- The News
15th January, 2006.


Have any of you ever stopped and wondered what Pakistani designers mean when they say ‘we also have a couture line’? What goes through your mind when you go to liberty and read the word ‘couture’ written on a garment shop? You would be flabbergasted to learn the precise meaning and implication of not just the word ‘couture’, but also of the art itself. You would be equally stunned to find out how this fine form of fashion is being exploited and its meaning tainted. Have Pakistani designers really reached the position and level of expertise in fashion, where they can claim that they have mastered the art of couture? If not, I believe we must address the perversion of this term that is definitely taking place on many levels.

Haute Couture is a French phrase for high fashion. Couture means dressmaking, sewing or needlework and haute means elegant or high. The two words when combined represent excellent skill with the fashioning of garments. It is a prestigious face for French creative fashion and original design.

It is imperative for any designer to understand that there is a huge difference between a high-priced ready-to-wear garment, that they often incorrectly call ‘couture ready-to-wear’, and an actual 'couture' outfit. The term ‘couture-ready-to-wear’ is of course a contradiction in itself since couture implies clothes made to measure for individual customers, and ready-to-wear means garments produced in standard sizes not keeping in mind the individual measurements of the people who will eventually buy them. In Pakistan, our vision and understanding of haute couture is totally wrong.

The exclusive made to order, couture clothes are virtually made completely by hand, with the use of luxurious fabrics and superb needlework. They command exorbitant prices and are sold to the wealthy and sociably mobile. In addition the clients get a perfection of fit only achieved by meticulous methods of cutting and fitting to the client's body. Designers create their initial designs using muslin (for flowing designs), calico or linen canvas (for tailored garments). These samples are called ‘toiles’ and save the designer from using very expensive fabrics. The toile can be manipulated, marked and accustomed to fit a live model’s measurements till the designer is satisfied. The final toile of a design is an exact interpretation of the line and cut right down to the button placement or hemline that the designer desires. An exclusive haute couture garment means that there is only one of its kind. No two people would have the same couture garment in their wardrobe and this is why people are willing to pay vast sums for it. I personally feel that nothing produced in Pakistan yet bears the slightest semblance to European Couture and there are very few trained designers in Pakistan who even manage to follow half of the rules of couture making. However, I am fully aware that there are a few who would beg to disagree with me.

Nowadays in the West, wearing couture is affordable for those who are happy to pay for exclusivity, high quality, superb craftsmanship and a fresh idea, but is no longer appropriate for many, as prices are too excessive. For Western designers, making couture is actually unprofitable now. It is only a means by which to publicize their ready-to-wear divisions through which they make the most money locally and globally. They sell their potential customers a dream through their couture creations, a dream of something elusive and indescribable; the fashion shows attract huge media attention and bring great publicity to couture houses. In Pakistan it is the complete opposite. Over here designers start out with ready-to-wear lines and ultimately venture into so called ‘couture lines’, from which they end up extracting the most income. If they were producing genuine couture, this would be an impossible phenomenon.

Some Pakistani designers claim not just to have a couture line but also to have a couture house. Now let me explain, that in the West a trade association determines qualifications for a couture house. Membership with this trade association is limited to couturiers that meet specified qualifications and abide by a set of rules. I believe that in Pakistan because the concept of tailors was already widespread, it was easier for designers to lean towards the made to measure style of designing rather than the ready to wear. However these tailors are not trained sufficiently or adequately yet and do not posses the finesse required in making couture.

As a student of the Pakistan School of Fashion Design (affiliated with the most prestigious French trade association—La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne), and having been trained in the art of haute couture for 4 years, I strongly believe that Pakistan can at some point actually produce authentic ‘couturiers’, but there is still a long way to go before that happens. This is why I stress that the word ‘couture’ should be respected for what it is and not flung about carelessly. I know that with this article I will end up ruffling a few feathers as it may, but I think if as Pakistani designers we want to attain international acclaim at some point, that we should go through the steps of evolution (as man did), rather then jump from one stage to the next.

In the end I encourage all readers to ponder over this matter of the alleged Pakistani ‘Couture’ trend. The terminology is definitely impressive, but do we have the vital ingredients to complete the recipe? They include training, experience, facilities, knowledge, quality and caliber. I’ll let you be the judge of that.

FARIHA RASHED.