Cathy on Couture

I recommend reading the entire article, but if you are not so inclined here are a few choice excerpts:

“But given all the buzz it creates, I’m sure that couture is really good for business. And I know that because the clothes don’t measure up.

I’ve been thinking about this all week. In a world of choices, with luxury brands and customized ready-to-wear, what makes haute couture different? Is it savoir-faire? Handwork like pleating and embroidery? Or is there an extra quality?

And it helps organize one’s thoughts around a compelling idea. That was the problem with Donatella Versace’s 15 looks. Yes, the corset-and-lace designs looked well executed and Versace-like, but they didn’t seem very demanding.

Couture is about dressing individual personalities, a point Jean Paul Gaultier made brilliantly in a collection inspired by the late Amy Winehouse. Many of the ideas were vintage Gaultier — the tuxedo, the skimmy dress with a flash of lingerie — but the chaotic mix, along with the cotton-candy hair, was effective.

Ms. Winehouse may seem a strange symbol for couture, but like her, couture is fragile, rare, free-spirited, ornery — and when it’s gone, it’s gone.”