High-fashion clothing, especially carefully designed and tailored garments made to individual specifications; or the fashion industry itself.
From French 'couture' (sewing, dressmaking), from Latin 'consuere' (to sew together). The term became associated with exclusive, luxury fashion in 19th-century Paris.
Haute couture requires hand-sewing and meticulous craftsmanship—a single couture dress can take hundreds of hours to make, making it closer to wearable art than mass-produced clothing.
Haute couture was historically dismissed as women's frivolous domain despite requiring immense technical skill. Male tailors dominated tailoring; female seamstresses and designers were undercredited.
Use couture with respect for the technical mastery it demands. Credit women designers and seamstresses whose innovation shaped haute couture (Coco Chanel, Madame Grès, etc.).
Women like Coco Chanel revolutionized fashion through engineering and vision—couture is craft, not decoration. Their contributions were foundational.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.