A couple of months ago Promgirl News touched on the ever more obvious fact that, in a 21st century fashion world where runway images move at the speed of email and the hottest trends from Europe can be ordered off Net-A-Porter the minute they are released, the once celebrated world of haute couture is becoming less relevant. In our article we noted how many designers, such as the revered Azzadine Alaia, have forsaken traditional haute couture in favor of high end ready-to-wear which some have taken to referring to as semi- or demi-couture. Well it turns out that Mr. Alaia is in good company because in the January issue of Vogue writer Jonathan Van Meter interviews Louis Vuitton’s Marc Jacobs about conversations he had with Christian Dior execs regarding the possibility of becoming their new Creative Director and Mr. Jacob’s take on Dior and couture may surprise you.
“I am at Vuitton, and I am very happy there,” Jacobs told Van Meter “I’ve been saying that for a long time. There have been on-and-off conversations about Dior. I don’t know; maybe someday in the future, maybe years from now, I may end up going someplace else, maybe Dior. But right now I am at Vuitton, and all that matters to me is that that’s where I am and I’m going to keep doing my thing. The irony in all of this is that I don’t dream of doing anything else, or I didn’t. My greatest challenge is to do something better than we’ve done the season before. The idea of couture doesn’t hold that thing for me. It’s archaic – in my opinion. I mean, I am really interested in the craftsmanship behind couture. But I can explore all that in ready-to-wear. With couture, one dress each season is photographed by a couple of magazines; there’s no advertising; it reaches 20 customers. I don’t feel there is anything lacking in what we do. I get to work with these amazing craftsmen. Maybe not the same ateliers that would make a couture dress, but again, we are not in a deficit for working with people who create beautiful things. I am not sure I ever looked at couture as this great opportunity.”
As the old fashion saying goes, three instances makes a trend, if Mr. Alaia is one and Mr. Jacobs the second it shouldn’t be long before we see another big name designer eschew couture in favor of high end ready-to-wear. After all, in a world where you can find the most fashionable luxury online anytime it only makes sense the the appeal of couture level craftsmanship would outgrow the Paris ateliers who once commanded an industry to come to them.
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