Salma Hayek-Pinault
…that she wore to the LA premiere of her new film, the Oliver Stone-directed crime-thriller Savages, on the 25th of June. It’s divine, I’m in love… Come, come, let’s have a look!
How lush is the emerald green colour of the evening gown? And how do you like the all-over embroidery on the sleeveless silk-georgette column gown… ? I found it to be as exquisite as any out there… Not surprising, though, considering the gown is a couture creation, by Gucci’s couture line Gucci Première.
Ah, couture. The reason why I’m captivated by clothes… The reason why fashion makes me dream… And being the materialistic cow that I am, owning a couture creation, particularly by Azzedine Alaïa ‒ and not getting a Nobel prize, not ridding the world of poverty or anything meaningful ‒ is my life’s biggest aspiration 😀 SO, allow me to enlighten you on the mythical world of couture, the pinnacle of fashion…
Couture, essentially, refers to creations which are made-to-order for a specific client, from the highest of quality and the dearest of fabrics, sewn with the most extremes of attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable of seamstresses, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques. Those
luckiest few
wishing to purchase couture get appointments with the creative director, where designs are discussed and measurements are taken, and customarily after six months the masterpiece is delivered, which fits the wearer and her body stance to the nearest millimetre. The creation would be unique to the buyer, with no other copies of it to be made, no matter what. And you pay upwards of £40,000 for such exclusivity.
Gucci, in 2010, daringly broke into this rarefied world of fashion, with Salma Hayek-Pinault debuting the Gucci Première line at the red carpet of the Italian film Il Gattopardo in 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Yeah, that gorgeous gown Salma wore to the Savages premiere is one-of-its-kind *sigh*, and the trifle matter that she’s married to François–Henri Pinault, PPR Group’s (which is Gucci’s parent group) owner means that this gown is all hers ‒ and was not borrowed for the event, like it happens with red carpet sightings of couture gowns (they’re still one-offs but loaned). Even if you want to break the bank for the gown, not unless Salma wants to sell it that you can get hold of it. BUT, but, but none of the Gucci Première gowns are haute couture, which is another level of… !
The term “haute couture” is protected by law ‒ so it bugs the hell out of me when people use it with reckless abandon. You need to have obtained a license from Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris (Paris Chamber of Commerce) to call yourself a “couture house” and use the term “haute couture” in your advertising and any other way. All very well, but the criteria to get the license can scare away the most ambitious of fashion houses ‒ it’s as snooty as it can get. SO, only a handful of design houses have the authority to call themselves a “couture house”.
While Gucci does not have the accredition yet, household names like Chanel, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Elie Saab, Valentino, Giorgio Armani (Armani Privé) and Versace (Atelier Versace) do ‒ and Giambattista Valli is the star of this elite group. And you can see all these couture houses’ latest one-of-a-kind creations very soon, as the Autumn (Fall) 2012 Couture Week in Paris is just around the corner, from the 1st to the 5th of July. I’m counting down the days to the 2nd of July ‘cos… that’d be the first showing of #RafSimonsforDior!!!
P.S. Yep, Blake Lively’s the face of the fragrance of the said line of Gucci.
P.P.S. Savages also stars Blake Lively, John Travolta, Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass), Taylor Kitsch, Benicio del Toro. Here’s the trailer…