couture defined...

haute couture:  

in France, a term exclusively reserved for the members and guest members of the Chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne.  to earn the right to call oneself a couture house, a member of the Chambre syndicale must design made to order fashions that involve at least one fitting, have a workroom in Paris that employees at least 20 full-time workers, and present a collection of at least 50 designs twice a year to the press in Paris. *

a master at work:
Pierre Balmain in 1947

These gorgeous garments are mostly made by hand--as in no sewing machine--and require a team of sewers to accomplish the look.  Some of these precious and detailed pieces can take well over one hundred hours to complete.  A process that has barely changed since the 1850's...my dream has always been to visit a couture house and just watch the process.  No one has to even acknowledge my existence. And I promise I won't touch.  But Oh! to be in the presence of that kind of beauty...I would probably keel over from over stimulation right then and there!  

Below, a few highlights from the fall 2012 couture shows...

chanel

 giambatista valli

 elie saab

valentino

christian dior

jean paul gaultier

armani prive

Stunning.  A true art form and my constant source of inspiration.

xo...
ki

(via style.com)
* Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Shaeffer