2023.10.04
Why Are Haute Couture Shows Necessary? Exploring from the Perspectives of Clients, Business, and Traditional Techniques
Who would even wear these clothes? It's a common question many people must have while watching a fashion runway.
Transparent dresses that reveal lingerie, costumes that envelop you like a mascot, and glittering clothes adorned with lavish jewels.
Whilst some brands, particularly luxury fashion houses, build their runway looks exclusively around commercial pieces for sale, it is typically the norm to showcase showpieces that embody each season's concept on the runway and translate it into ready-to-wear clothes.
Fashion weeks are platforms to present a brand's artistic concept; they don't suggest that “You will look cool strolling down the road in these clothes!” It's crucial to remember that brand awareness and promotion, aimed at reaching a broad range of end users, is the primary objective.
Now that we have some understanding of the role of runway shows, another question arises. Who are the haute couture clothes, which are not ready-to-wear but made-to-order and one-of-a-kind, intended for, and for what purpose are they displayed?
Even if you desire a radiant, extravagant dress, you can't simply walk into a store and buy one. If these are only exhibited to the ultra-wealthy, who make up only 0.001% of the global population and constitute the clientele for couture, then there's no need for a large-scale show that requires an enormous budget.
Even myself, someone in the fashion industry, has had doubts about the necessity of Haute Couture Fashion Week.
Yet, at the event held in early July, the purpose today feels clearer, at least to me. I saw three broad trends in how old, traditional haute couture is being promoted as part of business strategy.
The Expanded Customer Base & Increased Purchasing Power of New Generations
While the service is provided to existing couture customers, every brand indeed shares the goal of gaining a new consumer demographic to expand their business.In addition to the traditional clientele of inheritors of notable families, royalty, influential businessmen, and socialites, in recent decades, executives, industry-leading influencers, and artists have also been featured among couture customers.
Furthermore, these newly acquired customers revealed significant purchasing power. Late Karl Lagerfeld, in his 2018 interview with French 'VOGUE', said that while one customer used to buy five couture dresses, it's now increased to 20, and this trend seems to be on the rise.
A glance at the front row of the runway also reveals this shift, with a changing dynamic from older Western women, who made up the main customer base, to women in their 20s and 30s from the Middle East and China, along with the West. Research by consulting firm Bain & Company suggests that by 2025, Gen Z and Millennial consumers will account for 45% of the global luxury market, marking a significant shift in customer demographics.
Thus, to stimulate the high purchasing power of these new customers, respected couture houses like 'CHANEL' and 'DIOR' stand out. Notably, they express a connection to everyday reality rather than bold statements.
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