Not haute: Meet the women making couture count in Australia
Couture has acquired a misleading, rarefied reputation due to its frequent association with the French word haute.
Haute couture, roughly translated to 'high sewing', is the pinnacle of luxury fashion, where dresses and suits stretch (without the assistance of Lycra) from the tens of thousands to millions of dollars.
According to the powerful Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, French fashion's governing body, a label qualifies as haute couture if it has a workshop in Paris of at least 15 full-time staff. Labels such as Chanel, Dior, Schiaparelli and Givenchy make the cut.
Drop the haute like a hot baguette and a humble couturier can be as far from the Eiffel Tower as Sydney or Melbourne, working on their own at the sewing machine or with a handful of assistants. You can also expect their prices to drop a zero or two from the end.
From her Bohemian salon on Bourke Street in Melbourne, with the tower of the GPO standing in for the Eiffel Tower, Kara Baker dresses a clientele committed to quality craftsmanship, luxurious fabrics and an experience that transcends online checkouts and fast fashion.
'Women very rarely forget their first time,' Baker says. 'Even if they're a standard size, but especially when they're tall or petite. It's a revelation when they see how good they look in something that fits properly.
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'Then, if I'm lucky, they get addicted and come back.'
A veteran of the Melbourne fashion scene, with her label Sirens appearing on the Fashion Design Council's runway alongside the elegant silhouettes of Martin Grant and chaotic ebullience of Jenny Bannister's dresses in the eighties, Baker made the shift to couture 15 years ago.
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Not haute: Meet the women making couture count in Australia
Couture has acquired a misleading, rarefied reputation due to its frequent association with the French word haute. Haute couture, roughly translated to 'high sewing', is the pinnacle of luxury fashion, where dresses and suits stretch (without the assistance of Lycra) from the tens of thousands to millions of dollars. According to the powerful Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, French fashion's governing body, a label qualifies as haute couture if it has a workshop in Paris of at least 15 full-time staff. Labels such as Chanel, Dior, Schiaparelli and Givenchy make the cut. Drop the haute like a hot baguette and a humble couturier can be as far from the Eiffel Tower as Sydney or Melbourne, working on their own at the sewing machine or with a handful of assistants. You can also expect their prices to drop a zero or two from the end. From her Bohemian salon on Bourke Street in Melbourne, with the tower of the GPO standing in for the Eiffel Tower, Kara Baker dresses a clientele committed to quality craftsmanship, luxurious fabrics and an experience that transcends online checkouts and fast fashion. 'Women very rarely forget their first time,' Baker says. 'Even if they're a standard size, but especially when they're tall or petite. It's a revelation when they see how good they look in something that fits properly. Loading 'Then, if I'm lucky, they get addicted and come back.' A veteran of the Melbourne fashion scene, with her label Sirens appearing on the Fashion Design Council's runway alongside the elegant silhouettes of Martin Grant and chaotic ebullience of Jenny Bannister's dresses in the eighties, Baker made the shift to couture 15 years ago.
Sydney Morning Herald
18 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Not haute: Meet the women making couture count in Australia
Couture has acquired a misleading, rarefied reputation due to its frequent association with the French word haute. Haute couture, roughly translated to 'high sewing', is the pinnacle of luxury fashion, where dresses and suits stretch (without the assistance of Lycra) from the tens of thousands to millions of dollars. According to the powerful Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, French fashion's governing body, a label qualifies as haute couture if it has a workshop in Paris of at least 15 full-time staff. Labels such as Chanel, Dior, Schiaparelli and Givenchy make the cut. Drop the haute like a hot baguette and a humble couturier can be as far from the Eiffel Tower as Sydney or Melbourne, working on their own at the sewing machine or with a handful of assistants. You can also expect their prices to drop a zero or two from the end. From her Bohemian salon on Bourke Street in Melbourne, with the tower of the GPO standing in for the Eiffel Tower, Kara Baker dresses a clientele committed to quality craftsmanship, luxurious fabrics and an experience that transcends online checkouts and fast fashion. 'Women very rarely forget their first time,' Baker says. 'Even if they're a standard size, but especially when they're tall or petite. It's a revelation when they see how good they look in something that fits properly. Loading 'Then, if I'm lucky, they get addicted and come back.' A veteran of the Melbourne fashion scene, with her label Sirens appearing on the Fashion Design Council's runway alongside the elegant silhouettes of Martin Grant and chaotic ebullience of Jenny Bannister's dresses in the eighties, Baker made the shift to couture 15 years ago.
