The Fédération française de la couture, du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode (French Federation of Fashion and of Ready-to-Wear of Couturiers and Fashion Designers) is the French fashion

French fashion

Fashion has been an important industry and cultural export of France since the seventeenth century, and modern "haute couture" originated in Paris in the 1860s...

 industry governing clothing. The Federation was created in 1973, growing out of an older trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 (which still exists within the Federation), the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture parisienne which was created in 1868. The Federation comprises three separate entities:

• Chambre syndicale de la haute couture (trade union of high fashion or "haute couture
  Haute couture
  Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
  
  ")
• Chambre syndicale de la mode masculine (trade union of men's (ready-to-wear) fashion) - created in 1973
• Chambre syndicale du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode (trade union of (women's) ready-to-wear
  Ready-to-wear
  Ready-to-wear or prêt-à-porter is the term for factory-made clothing, sold in finished condition, in standardized sizes, as distinct from made to measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a particular person's frame. Off-the-peg is sometimes used for items which are not clothing.Ready-to-wear has...
  
   of couturiers and fashion designers) - created in 1973

The Federation also has a fashion school, the Ecole de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne (created in 1928).

The Federation has close ties to the Union Nationale Artisanale de la Couture et des Activités Connexes (National Couture Craft Industry and Related Activities Union), a trade union of couture dressmakers in other French administrative regions outside of Paris.

The Federation is responsible for setting the dates and location of the French fashion week

Fashion Week

A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know...

s. It also establishes industry standards on quality and on the use of the word "haute couture".

Member fashion houses and designers

See list of grands couturiers for haute couture

Haute couture

Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...

 houses.

• Adeline André
  Adeline André
  Adeline André is a French fashion designer and the head of one of the ten haute couture design houses in Paris.She was born in Bangui, French Equatorial Africa and studied at the School of the Syndicate Chamber of Parisian Couture...
  
  
• AF Vandevorst
• Agnès b
• Akris
  Akris
  Akris is a Swiss fashion label specializing in luxury goods for women , founded by Alice Kriemler-Schoch.-Foundation:...
  
  
• Alexander McQueen
  Alexander McQueen
  Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
  
  
• Andrew GN
• Ann Demeulemeester
  Ann Demeulemeester
  Ann Demeulemeester is a fashion designer whose eponymous label 'Ann Demeulemeester' is mainly showcased at the annual Paris Fashion Week.-Early life:...
  
  
• Ann Valérie Hash
• Atsuro Tayama
• Balenciaga
  Balenciaga
  Balenciaga is a fashion house founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga, a Basque designer, born in the Basque Country, Spain. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian Dior. His bubble skirts and odd, feminine, yet ultra-modern...
  
  
• Balmain
  Balmain (fashion house)
  Balmain is a fashion house that was founded by Pierre Balmain.In the period following World War II, Pierre Balmain was "a king of French fashion" and outfitted stars including Ava Gardner and Brigitte Bardot. His most famous client were Queen Sirikit of Thailand...
  
  
• Barbara Bui
• Bernhard Willhelm
• Bruno Peters
• Cacharel
  Cacharel
  Cacharel is a French brand of ready-to-wear clothing, perfume and accessories. It was created in 1962 by Jean Bousquet, in Nîmes, who founded the company of the same name in 1964...
  
  
• Céline
  Celine (brand)
  Céline is a French luxury house founded in 1945 by Céline Vipiana. Today, it is an international luxury goods brand owned by LVMH, purchased in 1996 for 2.7 billion French francs ....
  
  
• Cerruti
  Nino Cerruti
  Nino Cerruti is an Italian businessman and stylist, among the most famous in the world.He founded his own haute couture house Cerruti in 1967 in Paris...
  
  
• Carlota Alfaro
  Carlota Alfaro
  Carlota Alfaro is a high fashion designer from Puerto Rico. She is known as "Puerto Rico's grande dame of fashion".Alfaro showed a passion for design ever since she was a child, often designing clothes for family and friends...
  
  
• Chanel
  Chanel
  Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
  
  
• Chloé
  Chloé
  Chloé is a French fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. Its headquarters is in Paris.-History:Gaby Aghion was born in Alexandria, Egypt in the year 1921...
  
  
• Christian Dior
  Christian Dior
  Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
  
  
• Christian Lacroix
  Christian Lacroix
  Christian Marie Marc Lacroix is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded.-Early life:Lacroix was born in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône in southern France. At a young age he began sketching historical costumes and fashions. Lacroix graduated from high school in 1969...
  
  
• Collette Dinnigan
  Collette Dinnigan
  Collette Dinnigan is an Australian based fashion designer. Born in South Africa, Dinnigan moved to New Zealand, then Australia, where she obtained work with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
  
  
• Costume National
  CoSTUME NATIONAL
  CoSTUME NATIONAL is an Italian fashion house founded in 1986 by Ennio Capasa, Creative Director, and his brother Carlo, CEO of the Maison, which has its head offices in Milan...
  
  
• Dice Kayek
  Dice Kayek
  Dice Kayek is one of the most known fashion brands of Turkey, established in 1991 by Dilara Akay, Ece Ege, Ayse Ege and A. Akay.The brand was very popular with White Shirt Collections in Europe and Japan....
  
  
• Dominique Sirop
  Dominique Sirop
  Dominique Sirop is a French fashion designer and grand couturier.-Early life:Sirop's mother was a couturier's mannequin in Paris for the House of Paquin, and from seeing his mother at work Sirop got the ambition to make a career in the world of haute couture...
  
  
• Dries van Noten
  Dries van Noten
  Dries Van Noten is a Belgian fashion designer and an eponymous fashion brand. In 2005, the New York Times described him "one of fashion's most cerebral designers"...
  
  
• Elie Saab
  Elie Saab
  Elie Saab , sometimes known simply as 'ES', is a Lebanese fashion designer.In 1982, Saab launched his Beirut-based fashion label when he was 18 years old. His main workshop is in Lebanon. He also has workshops in Milan and Paris.Born to Maronite Catholic parents in Beirut, Saab is self-trained...
  
  
• Emanuel Ungaro
  Emanuel Ungaro
  Emanuel Ungaro is a French fashion designer.-Early life:Ungaro's Italian father fled to France from Francavilla Fontana of Brindisi province because of the fascist uprising in Italy...
  
  
• Escada
  Escada
  Escada is an international luxury fashion group in women's designer clothing. The company has a presence in about 60 different countries. Its main sales markets are North America, western and eastern Europe and Asia. It filed bankruptcy in August 2009, and was acquired by Megha Mittal, in November...
  
  
• Façonnable
  Façonnable
  Façonnable is an international high-end men's and women's tailor founded in Nice, France, by Jean Goldberg in 1950.-Background:The first shop, situated in rue Paradis in Nice, was frequented by film stars in need of bespoke tuxedos and gowns for events such as the annual Cannes Film Festival. In...
  
  
• Féraud
  Louis Feraud
  Louis Féraud was a French fashion designer and artist.In 1950, Louis Féraud created his first "Maison de Couture" in Cannes and by 1955 had established a couture house in Paris on the Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré....
  
  
• Francesco Smalto
• Franck Sorbier
  Franck Sorbier
  Franck Sorbier is a Paris fashion house that achieved haute couture status in 2005.After working successfully for Chantal Thomass and Thierry Mugler, the French fashion designer Franck Sorbier, who was born in 1961, presented his first collection in 1987....
  
  
• Gaspard Yurkievich
• Giambattista Valli
  Giambattista Valli
  -Early life:Valli obtained his education from one of Rome's Vatican schools, during a conservative childhood. On his office mantelpiece are photographs of Penelope Cruz, Queen Rania, Astrid Munoz and one of him as a youth taken with Pope John Paul I. In the picture Valli is wearing turquoise shorts...
  
  
• Givenchy
  Givenchy
  Givenchy is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter...
  
  
• Guy Laroche
  Guy Laroche
  Guy Laroche was a French fashion designer and founder of the eponymous company.Laroche began his career in millinery and, from 1949, Laroche worked for Jean Desses and eventually became his assistant. In 1955, he visited the US to investigate new ready-to-wear manufacturing methods...
  
  
• Iris Van Herpen
• Haider Ackermann
  Haider Ackermann
  Haider Ackermann is a French designer of ready-to-wear fashion.Born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1971, he was adopted at the age of nine months by a French Alsatian family. His adoptive father is a mapmaker...
  
  
• Hermès
  Hermès
  Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès is a French high fashion house established in 1837, today specializing in leather, lifestyle accessories, perfumery, luxury goods, and ready-to-wear...
  
  
• Hervé Léger
  Herve Leger
  Herve Leger, sometimes written as Hervé Léger , is a French fashion house founded by the designer currently known as Hervé L. Leroux.-History:Herve Leger was founded in 1985 by the designer currently known as Hervé L. Leroux...
  
  
• Hussein Chalayan
  Hussein Chalayan
  Hussein Chalayan MBE is a British/Turkish Cypriot fashion designer who graduated from Central Saint Martins in 1993.- Biography :...
  
  
• Isabel Marant
• Issey Miyake
  Issey Miyake
  is a Japanese fashion designer. He is known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances.-Life and career:Miyake was born 22 April 1938 in Hiroshima, Japan. As a seven year-old, he witnessed and survived the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. He studied...
  
  
• Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
  Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
  1949: Born on November 28th in Casablanca, son of Louis and Jeanne-Blanche de Castelbajac1968: First collection for Ko and Co, company created at Limoges by his mother Jeanne-Blanche de Castelbajac1969: First show...
  
  
• Jean Paul Gaultier
• Jeremy Scott
  Jeremy Scott
  Jeremy Scott is an American fashion designer born in Kansas City, Missouri. He attended the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, for fashion design...
  
  
• John Galliano
  John Galliano
  John Charles Galliano CBE, RDI is a Gibraltan-born British fashion designer who was best known as head designer of French haute couture houses Givenchy and Christian Dior , and his own self titled fashion house.-Family:He was born in Gibraltar to a Gibraltarian father, Juan Galliano, and a...
  
  
• John Ribbe
• Junko Shimada
• Karl Lagerfeld
  Karl Lagerfeld
  Karl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...
  
  
• Kenzo
  Kenzo Takada
  Kenzo Takada is a Japanese fashion designer. He is also the founder of Kenzo, a worldwide brand of perfumes, skincare products and clothes....
  
  
• Kris Van Assche
  Kris Van Assche
  Kris Van Assche is a Belgian fashion designer. He studied at the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts, in Antwerp from 1994 to 1998. After graduating he moved to Paris in 1998. He was immediately appointed at Yves Saint Laurent as Hedi Slimane’s first assistant for the Rive Gauche Homme line. The...
  
  
• Lacoste
• Lanvin
  Jeanne Lanvin
  Jeanne-Marie Lanvin was a French fashion designer and the founder of the Lanvin fashion house.One of the most influential designers of the 1920s and '30s, Jeanne Lanvin's skillful use of intricate trimmings, virtuoso embroideries and beaded decorations in clear, light, floral colors became a...
  
  
• Ted Lapidus
  Ted Lapidus
  Edmond "Ted" Lapidus was a French fashion designer. He was born in Paris the son of a Russian-Jewish Émigré tailor....
  
  
• Léonard
• Loewe
  Loewe (brand)
  Loewe is a Spanish luxury clothing and accessories brand based in Madrid and is owned by the LVMH Group. Loewe is known around the world as being one of the very best when it comes to luxury leather goods.- History :...
  
  
• Louis Vuitton
  Louis Vuitton
  Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
  
  
• Lucien Pellat-Finet
• Lutz
  Lutz
  Lutz is a short form of Ludwig and may refer to:-People with the surname Lutz:*Adolfo Lutz, Brazilian physician*Alois Lutz, Austrian figure skater, for whom the Lutz jump is named*Al Lutz, American internet journalist...
  
  
• Maison Martin Margiela
• Manish Arora
  Manish Arora
  Manish Arora is an Indian fashion designer based in New Delhi. In early 2011, he was appointed as creative director of the womenswear collection of the French fashion house Paco Rabanne...
  
  
• Marc Le Bihan
• Marithé François Girbaud
  Marithé François Girbaud
  Marithé François Girbaud is an international clothing company based in France. It was founded in 1964 by François and Marithé Girbaud...
  
  
• Martin Grant
• Martine Sitbon
• Maurizio Galante
• Miu Miu
  Miu Miu
  Miu Miu is a high fashion brand from the Prada fashion house, opened in 1993 and headed by Miuccia Prada. The name of the collection is taken from Miuccia Prada’s nickname.-Stores:...
  
  
• Montana Création
  Claude Montana
  Claude Montana is a French fashion designer. His company, The House of Montana, founded in 1979, went bankrupt in 1997.Born in Paris in 1949 to a Catalonian father and German mother, Montana began his career by designing papier-mâché jewelry covered with rhinestones...
  
  
• Nina Ricci
  Nina Ricci (brand)
  Nina Ricci is a fashion house founded by Maria "Nina" Ricci and her son Robert in Paris in 1932, and owned by the Spanish beauty and fashion group Puig since 1998. Nina Ricci designed gowns while Robert managed the business and finances. She worked with the fabrics directly on the mannequin to...
  
  
• Paco Rabanne
  Paco Rabanne
  Francisco "Paco" Rabaneda Cuervo, more commonly known as Paco Rabanne is a Franco-Spanish fashion designer. He fled Spain for France with his mother when the Spanish Civil War broke out...
  
  
• Paul Smith
  Paul Smith (fashion designer)
  Sir Paul Smith jr, RDI, is an English fashion designer, whose business and reputation is founded upon his menswear. He is both commercially successful and highly respected within the fashion industry....
  
  
• Paule Ka
  Paule Ka
  Paule Ka is a French ready-to-wear brand, created in 1988 by Serge Cajfinger.Born in Lille in 1955, Serge Cajfinger spent his childhood in Brazil; he returned to France in 1968.At the age of 19, he opens with his mother and his aunt Paule a multi-brand store in Lille...
  
  
• Peachoo & Krejberg
• Pierre Cardin
  Pierre Cardin
  Pierre Cardin Cardin was known for his avant-garde style and his Space Age designs. He prefers geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical...
  
  
• Raf Simons
  Raf Simons
  Raf Simons is a Belgian fashion designer. He studied Industrial design, but after a few years of self-study, he became a menswear designer in 1995...
  
  
• Renoma
• Rick Owens
  Rick Owens
  Rick Owens is an American fashion designer hailing from California, celebrated for his avant garde and subversive eye.He is married to Michele Lamy.Since 2003, Rick Owens has lived in Paris.-Biography:...
  
  
• Rochas
  Rochas
  Rochas is a fashion, beauty, and perfume house founded in 1925 by french designer Marcel Rochas, born in 1902 and died in 1955, first designer of 2/3-length coats and skirts with pockets...
  
  
• Rue du Mail
• Sharon Wauchob
• Shiatzy Chen
  Shiatzy Chen
  Shiatzy Chen is a Taiwanese fashion house, whose founder and brand innovator Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia is often referred to as the Chanel of Taiwan,and is the eponym of her luxury goods brand. She was born in 1951 in Changhua, Taiwan and founded the company in 1978...
  
  
• Sonia Rykiel
  Sonia Rykiel
  Sonia Rykiel née Flis is a French fashion designer.Ethnically a Polish-Romanian Jew, Sonia Rykiel was born in Neuilly a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, the eldest of five daughters of a Polish mother and a Romanian father. At the age of 17, she was employed to dress the window...
  
  
• Stella Cadente
• Stella McCartney
  Stella McCartney
  Stella Nina McCartney is an English fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney and the late photographer and animal rights activist, Linda McCartney.-Early life:...
  
  
• Stéphane Rolland
  Stéphane Rolland
  Stéphane Rolland is a French fashion designer and an haute couture fashion brand.-Early life:Rolland spent his childhood in the South of France, Argentina and the West Indies...
  
  
• Thierry Mugler
  Thierry Mugler
  Thierry Mugler is a French fashion designer and creator of several perfumes.-Childhood:Mugler was born in Strasbourg, France on 21 December 1948. His passion led him to focus more on drawing than on school and at the age of 9, he began to study classical dance...
  
  
• Tsumori Chisato
  Tsumori Chisato
  Tsumori Chisato is a Japanese fashion designer.She attended Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College. She began work with Issey Miyake in 1977 and started her own line in 1990. She took her work to Paris in 2003 and has built a following in the United States. Her aesthetic focuses on prints and has a...
  
  
• Udo Edling
• Valentino
  Valentino SpA
  Valentino SpA is a clothing company founded in 1959 by Valentino Garavani. Nowadays it is a part of Valentino Fashion Group. New creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli will take Alessandra Facchinetti's seat as creative designer...
  
  
• Vivienne Westwood
  Vivienne Westwood
  Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...
  
  
• Yohji Yamamoto
  Yohji Yamamoto
  Yōji Yamamoto , is an award winning Japanese fashion designer based in Tokyo and Paris. Yohji is considered to be among the master tailors whose work is thought to be of fashion genius and he has been described by Julie Gilhart, fashion director for Barney's New York as probably the only designer...
  
  
• Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche
  Yves Saint Laurent (brand)
  Yves Saint Laurent or YSL is a luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. Today, its chief designer is Stefano Pilati. Yves Saint Laurent, founder of the brand, died in 2008.-History:...
  
  
• Zucca
  Zucca
  Zucca is Italian for pumpkin.Zucca is a commercial Italian aperitif. Although its name is Zucca, the Italian word for squash, and is featured at Zucca's Bar located in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milano, its base ingredient is Rhubarb, hence its name Rabarbaro Zucca. It is also combined with...
  
  

See also

• French fashion
  French fashion
  Fashion has been an important industry and cultural export of France since the seventeenth century, and modern "haute couture" originated in Paris in the 1860s...
  
  
• Haute couture
  Haute couture
  Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
  
  
• List of fashion designers
• List of grands couturiers

External links

• La Fédération française de la couture, du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode - main page (English language version)
  • members
  • history and activities