A couturier is a fashion designer who creates custom garments for his clients. His creations are usually executed with rich, expensive fabrics and a meticulous attention to technique and detail. Some couturiers design, cut and sew garments themselves, while others concentrate solely on design, relying on sewing professionals to physically produce their conceptions. A couturier may work independently or he may be employed by a design house.
The garments created by a couturier are known as couture. As each couture piece is designed to suit an individual client, no two are alike. This concept contrasts with the more common ready-to-wear and mass-market clothing production methods. While ready-to-wear clothing is usually manufactured by fashion houses using fairly intricate techniques and high-quality fabrics, it is not custom-made and thus is usually less costly than couture. As its name suggests, mass-market apparel is mass produced, sometimes using mid- or low-quality fabrics, and is in most cases the least expensive category of clothing.
In exchange for a couture garment’s uniqueness, fine materials, and scrupulous craftsmanship, the client typically pays the couturier a premium rate. Many couture pieces involve complicated construction techniques, some which must be executed by hand. As a result, the client may face significant waiting periods before her garment is complete.
Some couturiers attend to every aspect of a garment, conceiving its design, selecting fabric and embellishments, and cutting, sewing, and finishing the piece. In other cases the couturier may simply design his clients’ pieces, leaving their execution to his assistants. For certain couturiers, this may reflect a preference for design over execution. Others may simply have an abundance of clients and are thus unable to personally attend to every step of a garment’s production.
Often a couturier is associated with a fashion house, or maison couture. In many cases, larger fashion houses will do couture work for individual clients as well as producing ready-to-wear lines each season. A couturier may be the head of a house and oversee both its couture work and its ready-to-wear production, or he may just be employed by the house to work in a particular area.
Other couturiers are independently employed. These designers may choose to work solely in couture. They may keep a workshop where they can receive clients and execute their designs. As their client pools can be small, self-employed couturiers may not utilize assistants, instead doing all design, construction, and finishing work by themselves.