What royals & nobles are in the ever discreet Haute Couture Club?


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Ok, there is a Princess Milena of Liechtenstein who has a beautiful apartment in Paris and belongs to the fashionable Parisian set. I don't know anything about her. I have the impression there is a good chance that she is in the club.

Now about Charlotte Casiraghi:
What do you think of this ensemble? (source = The Eternal Muse website)
Do you think, Haute Couture? The coat looks very intricate. (click on the picture to enlarge to HQ and see extreme detail)
The event would certainly have qualified: the Nijinsky Awards in Monte Carlo, 7 December 2006. And she just wore this coat again, to the circus, Day Three.
 
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just a question I thought I would pose to all my clever friends on the forum
Do you think that Rosario Nadal is in the club because she actually purchases her dresses or is she there because she is Valentino's muse and as such would get things to wear.Kind of like Lady helen taylor and her relationship with armani although I do know she gets paid to wear his clothes and isn't really his muse.
 
^ Marlene, I had the same thought. I don't know how wealthy are she and Prince Kyril, but I believe that Rosario was born to a family of great means, no?

I agree about Lady Helen. All of her Armani Prive must be loaned to her, as I cannot imagine she can afford to buy Haute Couture. I think she can afford the RTW for sure, but not the HC. No way.

I am so sad after finishing the Signe Chanel documentary. I see now, appreciate fully, how specialized the HC-making skills, how intricate, and how dying the trade! If more young people will not learn the trade, the art must die. What will happen when that lovely lady, Madame Pouzieux, now 75 years old and ridden with arthritis in her overworked hands, is no more? They said that Chanel had sent many people to attempt to learn the braiding skills, but all have failed to learn it.
 
CasiraghiTrio said:
So far it seems that we have established that Princess Grace, the Duchess of Windsor, & Princess Caroline & Charlotte Casiraghi were/are club members. Oh and I forgot: Queen Rania, and Princess Lalla Salma, and Rosario Nadal as well.

Are there other royals?

Maybe some in the Liechtenstein family! They are soooo wealthy. I can see them affording HC easily.
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What about Marie Chantal of Greece?
She is very close to Valentino, as Rosario Nadal, but she is not his muse.
IMO, Rosario doesn't purchases her dresses.
 
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Marie Chantal is on the list. She is for sure a club client. See on the previous page, where I listed some known clients. MC is on there.
 
Queen Rania said some time ago that many of her clothes are borrowed.

As for other Royals I think it's safe to say that many other ME Royals purchase couture, especially from the Saudi and UAE royal houses. If you read books such as "Princess" by Jean Sassoon that is just an indicator of the lavish lifestyles these Royals lead.
 
Princess Haya is often seen in Valentino couture; suits to gala dresses.
Sheikha Mozah wife of Qatar emir is a very well known couture client. She is seen in Chanel, Carven & JPGaultier couture.

I think many of teh royals head to couture for evening dresses. The designers might not be well known outside their home country but there are a few.

The Haute couture club has about 200 members because its about way over peoples budget. A chanel ready to wear dress ranges anywhere between $7,000+ & that being a plain chiffon dress. So, imagine a Haute couture dress which would be made custom fit for you. I guess you pay for you get/order.
 
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Here is Valentino's last Haute Couture show that was presented last week. I have a feeling that we may see some royals -- perhaps Maxima -- wear some of these amazing gowns. Personally, I would love to see Marie, the future Princess of Denmark wear one of these pieces... borrowed or purchased.

[URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=ktCIlr6Q7ZQ"]clip[/URL]


Here is Christian Lacroix's S/S 2008 Haute Couture show, again presented last week.

[URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=FP_WBAhqGAQ"]clip[/URL]


Givenchy Haute Couture S/S 2008

[URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=F6-f444HbNo"]clip[/URL]



Jean Paul Gaultier

[URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=M1c9vq9ZPW8"]clip[/URL]


Chanel Haute Couture S/S 2008

[URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=e6fB3ZlLdwE"]clip[/URL]


Armani Prive Haute Couture

[URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=BPMqcBnpkF4"]clip[/URL]
*I love the music... fantastic. Again, I see many many ensembles that would look amazing on Marie.


Dior Haute Couture 08/09

[URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=eCCxq62lZfY"]clip[/URL]
 
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LOL @ braid lady...it's so funny this crazy cat woman has such a integral part in making these $100,000 garments for the world's elite. She's so sweet though...and adorably rough around the edges.
 
CasiraghiTrio said:
Haute Couture Houses
*Chanel
*Christian Dior
*Armani Prive (correspondent/foreign member)
*Christian Lacroix
*Jean-Paul Gaultier
*Versace Atelier
*Givenchy
*Valentino (correspondent/foreign member)
*Emanuel Ungaro
*Ralph Rucci (correspondent/foreign member)
*Elie Saab (correspondent/foreign member)
*Adeline André
*Dominique Sirop
*Franck Sorbier
*Jean-Louis Scherrer
Click to expand...

Prada is not regarded as a haute couture house ? :confused:
 
zembla said:
LOL @ braid lady...it's so funny this crazy cat woman has such a integral part in making these $100,000 garments for the world's elite. She's so sweet though...and adorably rough around the edges.
Click to expand...

I enjoyed watching her! She is quite a character. Not what you would expect in the world of haute couture, but kind of refreshing and entertaining.:lol:
 
Prada is not regarded as a haute couture house ? :confused:
Click to expand...
progress.gif

Nope, not even close. The house is prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear).
 
JulieS said:
Prada is not regarded as a haute couture house ? :confused:
Click to expand...

No, like GT said, it's *just* RTW. :rolleyes:

Maybe Prada will have HC collection someday, though. Because like Givenchy, Prada is an LVMH company, right?

I know HC is a dying art, so maybe that doesn't bode well for anymore houses taking it on. But.... things can turn around. I hope so. All of you guys with your fashion youtube clips have converted me onto the HC appreciation club. :cool:

GT, I think it would be so nice to see Marie Cavallier (sp?) wearing HC, borrowed or bought. She is so cute and has a great body for it. Has Mary ever worn HC, even just borrowed? (I can't see Mary & Fred affording HC, but maybe I am wrong?) I know Mary loves Prada, right? I have seen her in Prada a few times I can remember. What about Countess Alexandra? Do the Danish royals mostly prefer to promote Danish designers? I know the senior members of the British royal family tries to only wear British.... Diana used to like Dior & Chanel though, but always borrowed of course. Well, maybe Diana bought some RTW sometimes, but never could buy HC, or I would be very surprised if she could afford that.
 
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Thanks for posting the videos of Signé Chanel. I loved the scene where Karl Lagerfeld arrives and all the phones start ringing and everybody is warning eachother : Karl is here ! Karl is here ! Almost like a royal highness is arriving !

I am slightly confused by the BBC documentary though. Are you only allowed to buy haute couture when you’re in this HC club ? That is hard to believe. How does the HC business survive when they have to refuse clients because they’re not in the club ? I know that people on these boards are probably not experts in HC but I hope someone can enlighten me on this subject. I’m really curious.
 
^ The BBC documentary explains that question at one point. They say that the HC design houses all rely on their Ready-to-wear lines (RTW) to make profits. The HC is not good for profit anymore because the expenses outweigh the earnings. This is part of the decline of this art form. It is a dying art. Unless something dramatic happens, eventually the houses won't afford to make HC anymore.

Now to answer the question of "who" can buy HC: Yes, only HC club members can buy it from the designers. Can others obtain it? Sure, by indirect means, i.e. vintage shops. Also, celebrities can wear it to red carpet events -- wear only, not buy, as they must return it. Only club members can buy it from the designers. Now there are just about 200 members of the club. There used to be more, many more, in the glory days of the early-to-mid 20th century, with the "club saint" Coco Chanel and the Duchess of Windsor and many more. Now the production costs have gone so high, and the # of specialists who have the know-how continues in decline. High prices, low demand = very bad future for Haute Couture. It is incredibly sad for the state of this true art form.
 
Thanks for the answer. Now I understand why everyone is so fascinated by this club. Businesswise, however, I don't think the club is a smart move. If HC houses allowed everyone to buy HC, maybe it wouldn't be a dying art. Sad !
 
Coquine, I know exactly what you mean. I agree that the club should be less exclusive. I think the HC houses will have to make a choice: open it up to more people who want to buy, or stop the whole thing. Otherwise, they would have to stop doing it anyway. It was interesting to watch in the Signe Chanel documentary how Oprah Winfrey was apparently attending her first Chanel HC show and asking lots of questions about how it works. Oprah seems not to be in the club, yet she can afford to buy a dress, because she is solidly in the billionaire club for many years now. There are a handful of people who like Oprah can afford to buy HC, but cannot, because they aren't in the club.
If only the houses would open it up just a bit to people like her, even though she is "nouveau riche" and a celebrity.... It's her celebrity presence that allowed her to be front row at the show in the first place, yet she can't buy. Quite ridiculous. Sometimes the gates have to be opened to the "nouveau riche" in order to save something's survival. I would rather see less exclusivity if the art can live on.
 
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I think it's better to keep it exclusive...fashion houses do couture with the knowledge that it's not the most profitable.

I don't think just anyone should wear it...and it should be hard to acquire because it wasn't, every tacky wealthy woman could wear it. I mean Paris Hilton in Chanel Couture...could you imagine?
 
Are there anymore youtube eps from that Chanel documentary? I saw 3 posted...
 
dazzling said:
Princess Haya is often seen in Valentino couture; suits to gala dresses.
Sheikha Mozah wife of Qatar emir is a very well known couture client. She is seen in Chanel, Carven & JPGaultier couture.

I think many of teh royals head to couture for evening dresses. The designers might not be well known outside their home country but there are a few.

The Haute couture club has about 200 members because its about way over peoples budget. A chanel ready to wear dress ranges anywhere between $7,000+ & that being a plain chiffon dress. So, imagine a Haute couture dress which would be made custom fit for you. I guess you pay for you get/order.
Click to expand...
yes, but today if you can get a good dressmaker, you can have something very similiar fora fraaction of what it cost, custom made too!
 
zembla said:
I think it's better to keep it exclusive...fashion houses do couture with the knowledge that it's not the most profitable.

I don't think just anyone should wear it...and it should be hard to acquire because it wasn't, every tacky wealthy woman could wear it. I mean Paris Hilton in Chanel Couture...could you imagine?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I just worry that the inflation costs will go up so much that the houses will have to stop making it. But I understand about the exclusivity keeping it special.

About Paris Hilton in HC.... :lol: Remember when that one HC client (in the BBC doc) said the couture dress "transforms you"? Maybe it would make a chic woman of PH? I am half-joking, but all the same, part of PH's problem is how she dresses. If she wore better things, who knows?
 
Thanks for uploading the rest...the part with publicist is hilarious. I love Anna Mouglalis too...
 
I know this topic is old but I wanted to say that "the club" there is no actual club. What they mean by club is the people who are regular clients and get invited, anyone that have the money can buy HC , they have to make an appointment with the fashion house.

If you become a regular client , you will get invited to the fashion show , a lot of the clients do not go to the show's because they prefer to remain anonymous.
 
I watched "The Secret World of Haute Couture." It was very educational and eye-opening.

What I find fascinating is that there are many design houses that custom-make individual clothes (think Catherine Walker for Princess Diana) but because they don't make and show their collections in France, the clothes aren't considered haute couture.

It does make sense that many royals would be members since those heavenly designs cost so much. I'm surprised more royals aren't members since they have the ocassion and many opportunities to wear custom fitted clothes--but if there are only 200-300 members from around the world, there can't be that many royals that are actual members.
 
I don't know if this was mentioned before: Q Sofia of Spain belongs here too. She has worn HC extremely discreetly (I'm not saying this ironically), such as Angel Sanchez, Valentino and even Oscar de la Renta without people noticing it.;) IMO, this is what sheer elegance is all about - wearing clothes that don't scream their label.
 
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