Haute couture literally means the art of "high sewing" in French. Haute Couture, which began in Paris at the end of the 19th century, is the ultimate and most traditional fashion. The garments are handmade and tailored to the wearer's body, requiring the collaboration of a highly specialized team of designers, tailors and artisans trained in traditional haute couture techniques.

Today, the French Ministry of Industry allows only 14 designers to use the "haute couture" designation, and they must adhere to strict rules. To comply, a fashion house must produce at least 50 bespoke pieces that require more than one fitting each year and employ 15 full-time staff and 20 full-time artisans in its Paris workshop.

How long does it take to make a haute couture piece?

150

The number of hours it takes from start to finish a simple couture dress or suit.

1000

The number of hours required to complete a couture dress requiring elaborate embroidery or other embellishments.

6000 +

The number of hours required to complete a dress with the most exquisite embroidery and decoration.

Since its founding in Biarritz, France in 1915, Chanel's haute couture service has flourished under the leadership of Creative Director Karl Lagerfeld. Today, it operates on a much smaller scale, with only four haute couture workshops, compared to 25 in 1931, and the company maintains its heritage through the acquisition of several legendary workshops, including Lesage Embroidery Workshop and Lemarie Feathering Workshop, which provide fine embroidery, feathering, ruffle making, button making, accessories making, etc. Together, we create a complete haute couture collection.

The number of employees required to produce a piece of haute couture at Versace includes 1 senior employee and 5 seamstresses.

The number of fittings a Dior client recently ordered for a heavily embellished, one-of-a-kind gown that took a year to make. Simpler clothes that are remade on the models on the runway have fewer fittings, typically two, and typically take six to eight weeks to deliver. Some clients also have their own size tables so they don't have to spend too much time travelling to Paris for repeated fittings.

The number of seamstresses employed at Valentino's workshop in Rome will increase to 80 during the collection's launch.

The price you need to pay to buy Haute couture. The lowest prices are thousands of euros for a simple haute couture dress.

The price of a suit adapted from a fashion show sample may be slightly lower, while the bridal dress may rise to hundreds of thousands. Unlike ready-to-wear, haute couture does not have a fixed price tag, and the final price is calculated according to the materials and man-hours used.

Although the price of each piece of couture is extremely high, couture is not a profitable business. In fact, many famous fashion houses are losing money on couture, whose costs are more like marketing expenses for products like perfume, cosmetics and leather goods.

Who is buying Couture?

Whereas a century ago it was European aristocrats and American nouveaux riches who financed the Paris fashion economy, today the haute couture clientele is much younger and more ethnically diverse.

In recent decades, a large number of new customers have emerged from places such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Russia, China, South Korea and Brazil.

Jeffry Aronsson, chief executive of Emanuel Ungaro, told Reuters in 2011: "Women from the Middle East are our biggest customers and will remain so.