Couture means dressmaking or sewing. This is where a skilled sewing artisan works with you to create a truly unique garment. They help you choose the fabric, they create the pattern from your custom measurements, cut the fabric, and sew the garment. Couture fashion is much different he production and cost as compared to Haute Couture.
Haute Couture has very precise rules and qualifications. Translated literally, couture is French for dressmaking, while haute means high. These are garments created as unique, one-of-a-kind pieces for a specific client.
Here are the interesting rules that determine an Haute Couture house. The designs are made-to-order clothes for private clients, with more than one fitting, using an atelier (workshop) that employs at least fifteen full-time staff. They must also have twenty full-time technical workers in one of their workshops. Finally, Haute Couture houses must present a collection of no less than 50 original designs, both day and evening garments, to the public in January and July.