Publisher's Synopsis
Many cities are considered fashion capitals. Only one can be the fashion capital of the world. Thatcity is Paris.Paris is a world leader in style. In the 17th century, the French fashion industry rose to the pinnacleof the international textile trade, cementing itself as a global power in fashion for hundreds ofyears.During this time it has attracted the world's foremost designers and imbued its citizens with anunmatched and innate sense of style.To this day, France an enduring reputation as a style leader, with fashion holding a significant placewithin French cultural life. Luxury labels Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Givenchyand Jean Paul Gaultier have set an impeccably high standard for couture.The city of Paris is at the centre of the French fashion industry, remaining one of the big fourFashionWeek events each season. Parisian couture has a reputation like no other, feeding a public hungryfor the latest in stylistic innovation and superior quality. The historic Avenue des Champs-Élyséesis amust-see on any visit to Paris and is a fashion-lovers paradise.So how did Paris become the international beacon of fashion that it is today?The city's legacy begins with the "Sun King", King Louis XIV, whose love of the lavish and luxuriousisimmediately apparent in the gilded aesthetics of the Palace of Versailles. King Louis secured thetextile industry under the control of his royal court, creating a national dependence on luxurygoods.Even centuries after his reign, fabrics and garments of the greatest quality called France theirhome.Haute couture or "high fashion" is a distinctly French invention: a style hand-crafted fromextravagantly expensive and high-quality fabrics. Extreme attention to detail and individuallyspecifictailoring set haute couture apart from the rest and changed the game when it came to the textileindustry. Designers and tailors had to base their businesses in the flourishing hub of France, or riskbeing left behind.Many famous French fashion labels have their roots in the luxury goods trade. Hermès began as asupplier of coach harnesses and equestrian accoutrements in 1837. The Hermès clienteleconsistedof only the uppermost circles of high society, but the brand was also able to adapt to changes intransportation, developing travel luggage with a reputation for quality. Still today, Hermès Kelly andBirkin bags are symbols of status, in part due to their pedigree as a Parisian brand.In the 1900s, fashion transformed from this more practical trade into its modern form, evensomething approaching visual art. In the early years of the century, Parisian designer Paul Poiretemerged, in the view of many, as fashion's first genius. The son of a respected cloth merchant, Poiret began working for prominent couturier Jacques Doucet as a teenager. In 1903, uponopeninghis own fashion house in Paris, Poiret introduced the world to his waiflike, high-waistedwomenswear silhouette. The dresses presented the public with narrow lines and geometricshapes, rendering the once-venerated hourglass suddenly old-fashioned. For the first time, corsets andlayers upon layers of clothing were out of fashion. This freedom of movement would characteriseFrench fashion for years to come.The French hold an enormous sense of reverence for the charms and artistic nuances that fashionbrings into our lives. As the creators of modern luxury fashion, no other culture has brought suchglamour and pure aesthetic allure onto the world stage.
