Couture receives injection of vitality and 'street cred'
Brands are embracing the modernisation of couture by appealing to millennials while preserving precious craftsmanship
From the appearance of teenager Willow Smith in the front row at Chanel's show to Elie Saab's unveiling of matching mother-daughter gowns at July's Paris Haute Couture Week, it seems the prestigious couture trade is responding in full to the rising interest it is receiving from a dynamic new generation of customers, and is keeping its modernisation in tune with the fast-changing fashion realm.
"Pop stars, ultraprivileged twentysomethings and tastemakers are more and more interested in couture," says couturier Zuhair Murad. "They are sharing these days this particularly high-level form of fashion with [those from] the exclusive world of aristocrats and elite of socialites who [have] dominated the world of haute couture for decades."
Wendy Yu, a 26-year-old London-based Chinese entrepreneur and couture collector, says: "Where couture appeals to me [is in] the customer experience as well as the personalisation. The fact that a brand would go an extra mile for you really makes it stand out."
Murad says some of his couture clients are in their mid-20s, and came to him for prom party dresses or bridal gowns.
"They enjoy the pleasure of [having] sophisticated, custom pieces [along] with all the pampering that comes with the process," he adds. "Buying couture is sometimes within the culture of a family - a heritage of traditions among those specific bourgeois families."
Chinese designer Guo Pei agrees. Guo, who showed at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week as a guest member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, has made gowns for babies whose parents wish to celebrate their 100-day birthday.
"Many of my clients are in their mid-20s, who got married in my couture wedding dresses and wanted to dress their babies in couture as well," she says.