An exhibition for all lovers of Haute Couture has been opened in Paris City Hall. More than 100 creations describing 150 years of fashion history. This is a unique opportunity to see the works that have never before been shown to the public.
During the exhibition, organized with the support of Swavorski, you can enjoy the mythical dresses of Chanel, Balenciaga, Dior and many other famous designers. The creations were selected from among the most beautiful museum shows, but also from the collections of the greatest fashion houses.
The exhibition begins with a retrospective of the history of Haute Couture – “a French discipline, you could even say, exclusively Parisian,” as pointed out by Olivier Saillard, curator of the exhibition and director of the Fashion Museum of the City of Paris. All began with Charles Frederick Worth, which is considered the first great fashion designer, who in 1858 opened the first Parisian fashion house on the famous Rue de la Paix street, which employed 1200 workers.
Between years 1946-1967 the amount of Parisian fashion houses has decreased from 106 to 19. There was 20 of them in 1994. Today we can count around 10. The first rules governing the “entrance” to the world of Haute Couture that exist since 1945, were subsequently modified in 2001. Nowadays, every new designer must have a recommendation of one of the existing fashion houses in order to arise. The designer has to present two collections annually: the autumn/winter and spring/summer with at least 25 models designed in his own atelier employing more than 20 people.
The reputation of a couture houses is indicated by the number and variety of ateliers that work with them.
The exhibition presents the work of the most famous ateliers, including the famous Lesage school of embroidery, and the Lognon atelier that specialises in pleating.
You can enjoy the subsequent stages of dress creation, on an example of dress created by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, from a drawing to the design, cutting, decorative elements, and finally the dress exposed in a glass case. The exhibition also include notes, notebooks full of designs, black-and-white drawings and paintings made in 1855, as well as sketches of 1930s Agnes, 1950s Dior, up to the 1980s and 1990s Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix fashion houses. The presentation of works of fashion is accompanied by documentaries that show the backstage work of the biggest Parisian fashion houses.
In the second part of the exhibition you can admire the most beautiful ball and evening dresses, such as the dress of Paquin sewn for the world exhibition in Paris in 1900 (Paris Exposition Universelle).
The Worth’s dresses from 1900 are exhibited next to dress of Balenciaga, YSL, Pierre Cardin, Valentino covered in crystals of Swarovski, Diora, Chanel with hand-embroidered laces, Lanvin, Paco Rabanne, Givenchy, Thierry Mugler and so on…
Beside the dresses, there are also presented a seemingly simple suits for women, which are tailored very precisely, mathematically calculated, often requiring more effort than beautiful ball dresses.
Organizers did not forget to put up poaches, including Schiaparelli’s, shoes of Roger Vivier and other accessories. The exhibition ends with a multimedia animation that displays fashion shows.
While leaving the show you can buy books, souvenirs and postcards related to fashion.
The exhibition catalogue is available in two languages: French and English. The exhibition is open every day, except Sunday until July 6, 2013.
The exhibition “Paris Haute Couture”
Hôtel de Ville – Salle St-Jean, 5 rue de Lobau. 75004 Paris
Free admission