Pret a porter

Origin

• French, ready to wear First Known Use: 1959

• This designation is meant to say to the public “anybody could wear items from this collection, on a daily basis, they’re ready to go”. Prêt-à-Porter: although designed by famous couturiers, this refers to factory-made clothing that is made in standardized sizes. This applies to cheaper versions of Haute Couture clothing.

• Pret-a-porter is ready-made clothes of high quality with the name of a famous designer or the title of famous brand on them. It is designed for the middle class (more precisely, for the upper middle class), which has fewer financial resources than the elite.

• Prior to the Industrial Revolution in the 1800's, all clothes were custom; poorer people made and wore what they could, and the very wealthy always had couture, haute couture (high made) clothing to their specifications.

• As couture garments became more expensive mass produced garments ,became more fashionable. By the 1960s ,designer ready to wear became as influential as couture. The couture suffered from the compaction and therefore no longer financially successful. Therefore, the couturiers began to produce there own Pret-à-Porter collection.

Pret a Porter HistoryAll clothing found in chain stores and department stores today is ready-to-wear. The exception is men's suiting, which is sometimes considered semi-ready-to-wear because it is tailored specifically for the customer.

Before the American Civil War, ready-made apparel existed but its variety was limited. Mainly coats and jackets and undergarments were purchased using predetermined sizes. Most clothing was made by tailors or by individuals or their family members at home.

• The Civil War was a pivotal event in the historical development of men's ready-made clothing.

• As the war continued, however, manufacturers started to build factories that could quickly and efficiently meet the growing demands of the military.

• Mass production of uniforms necessitated the development of standard sizes. Measurements taken of the soldiers revealed that certain sets of measurements tended to recur with predictable regularity. After the war, these military measurements were used to create the first commercial sizing scales for men.

• The mass production of women's clothing developed more slowly. Women's outfits generally continued to be custom-made well into the 1920s.

• In that decade, factors such as the development of industrial production techniques, the rise of the advertising industry, the growth of an urban professional class, and the development of national markets accessed through chain stores and mail order catalogues, contributed to the success of the women's ready-made apparel industry.

• Americans viewed mass-manufactured goods. Instead of seeing the purchase of mass-produced clothing as entailing a loss of individuality, American women began to accept the pieces of ready-made merchandise as convenient, affordable, and up-to-date fashion items that could be replaced easily as styles changed.

Visitor Profile Pret A Porter is one of the most well

attended French fashion industry trade shows. Eminent professional experts from the fashion industry, including manufacturers, jewelry designers, textile producers, shoemakers and leather garment experts, are regularly present at the show. Wholesalers, retailers, dealers and distributors of travel dresses, bags and luggage items and a host of other fashion products are also present here. The show brings in general visitors in large numbers too.

• This makes large profits for the couture design house through the volume of mass market international sales.

• Collections are aimed to satisfy the demands of masses.

“luxury must be comfortable, otherwise

is not luxury” -Coco

Chanel

DESIGNERS• Most couture designers also design ready-to-wear collections,

which produce larger profits than haute couture.• In 1937, the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted a study of

women's body measurements for creating a sizing system which the entire industry could follow.

• A pioneer in this business was Pierre Cardin who collaborated with French and German trading

• In 1950’s Dior created a the first line of youth collection along with a few lines of stylish clothes.

• In 1958 Yves Saint Laurent was the first designer expand from couture into ready-to-wear, he made chic ready-to-wear fashions available to the mass market, and made ready-to-wear a reputable business for designers.

SOME READY TO WEAR DESIGNERS AND BRANDSADIDAS BY STELLA MCCARTNEY

EMILIO PUCCI NINA RICCI

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN GIVENCHY PRADA

DKNY GUCCI RALPH LAUREN

JUICY COUTURE JIMMY CHOO RAY-BAN

CALVIN KLEIN LEVI'S STELLA MCCARTNEY

CONVERSE M MISSONI VERSACE

D&G MARC JACOBS VALENTINO

DOLCE & GABBANA MCQ ALEXANDER MCQUEEN VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

DONNA KARAN MISSONI YVES SAINT LAURENT

Pret a porter Paris fashion week

• Pret A Porter is one of the most popular fashion industry trade shows in France. The main event is divided into three segments, dedicated to shoes, bags and jewelry items respectively. Different varieties of trendy, stylish and chic belts, scarves, hats and umbrellas are also displayed here by the exhibiting companies, along with other types of fashion accessories.

• More than 600 fashion brands are put on exhibit at the show and participating companies also have the chance to directly interacting with a large volume of qualified purchasing agents here. The show owes its global feel from its participants, who hail from more than 45 nations all across the globe.

• The latest fashion trends and patterns are closely deliberated upon during the event and visitors are helped to get familiarized with sophisticated fashion products and tools here. The show is held at the Porte de Versailles and several interactive special events are held here as well.

French Pret a porter

• French Couture continued to be the standard bearer of influence in fashion; when hemlines went up, so did ready-to-wear (60's). When pants were introduced by Saint Laurent in '67, Pret-a-porter followed suit, so to speak. And when couture ball gowns got big with big shoulders in the 80's, all the big shoulder pads and clothes followed in the 80's, too.

• YVES SAINT LAURENT was the creative force at the House of Dior and after the death of Christian Dior in 1957 he took over and imposed a new and personal style. His first collection called “The trapeze” was very successful and his talent was credited with the imposition of the triangular shape and the “bubble dress”. His sense of practicality and a desire for new energy made him abandon the dreamy, romantic, overly sophisticated Dior woman for a more dynamic one; the length of the dress was just below the knee but the shoulders remained narrow.

The design veered away from previous decades of

constructed clothing with tight waists and girdles

Yves saint Laurent creations

• EMILIO PUCCI was born into a Neapolitan aristocratic family. He was the first member of his family to actually work in over 1000 years, so in order to spear additional embarrassment to his noble and reluctant family, he signed his collection simply as Emilio. In 1949 he opened his first boutique and introduced the “Capri pants” which took the world by storm. In the ’50 he gained a reputation as a brilliant designer of patterned sport wear and relaxed daywear, creating a line of light weight, wrinkle free, comfortable dresses.

Fashion houseFashion house is an establishment in

which fashionable cloths are designed, made and sold

The fashion houses or fashion designers that create exclusive and often trend-setting fashions

All couture houses produce ready-to-wear as well as couture pieces. Despite its high prices, haute

couture is much less profitable than mass-produced ready-to-wear collections. However,

haute couture serves to preserve a high-fashion, luxurious image of the brand which fuels sales of

its other collections, namely ready-to-wear, accessories and cosmetics. It is also important to

note that couture includes only women's garments. There is no such thing as haute couture

menswear.

Ready-to-wear collections are usually presented by fashion houses each season during a period known as fashion week. This takes place on a city-wide basis and occurs twice a

year.Ready-to-Wear is an umbrella term

that applies to all clothing and accessories that are not custom-

made. The ready-to-wear segment is further separated into different

levels according to price, exclusivity, and quality of garments.

• There are no clear-cut criteria for a brand to be classified as "luxury," however one important factor is the concept of exclusivity. A person who can afford anything does not want to own something anyone can buy; they want something special and unique. As a brand becomes more popular, it is not regarded as highly by the wealthy clientele.

• For example, around 2002 the trademark Burberry plaid was seen on everything from expensive bags and coats to cheap caps and scarves, becoming affordable to the middle and lower classes as well. Since the plaid was everywhere, it was no longer exclusive or "special," which turned off many of its wealthy customers.

Prêt-a-Porter Today• All clothing found in chain stores and department stores today is

ready-to-wear. The exception is men's suiting, which is sometimes considered semi-ready-to-wear because it is tailored specifically for

the customer. • High-end fashion, ready-to-wear collections are usually presented by

fashion houses each season during a period known as Fashion Week.

• This takes place on a city-wide basis, and the most prominent of these include London, New York, Milan and Paris, and are held twice a year- the Fall/Winter shows take place in February, whilst Spring/Summer collections are shown in September.

• Today, in an effort to regain its exclusive status, Burberry has greatly reduced the presence of its trademark plaid. As a result, Burberry has reported record sales (over $1.5 billion for fiscal year 2007, over three times more than its sales ten years ago) and its stock price increased by 51% from 2006 to 2007. Many luxury companies walk a fine line between increasing market share and maintaining the elite image that is so important to rich consumers with a lot of money to spend. Some examples of luxury retailers , and Bloomingdale's .

• Smaller lines including the Cruise and Pre-Fall collections, which add to the retail value of a brand, are presented separately at the designer's discretion. Ready-to-wear fashion weeks occur separately and earlier than those of haute couture.

• Confection collections – deal with clothes that we can see and buy in shops. This collections are aimed to satisfy the demands of masses.

ProductionReady-to-wear apparel is generally mass-produced in factories, using standardized patterns and inexpensive construction methods. It is manufactured this way to

produce low-cost garments.

Haute Couture v/s Prêt a Porter• They bring a lot of money and clients,

because of a quicker and bigger volume turnover, they cost less and many people can afford them.

• These are usually manufactured using cheaper labour and constructed of less expensive materials than bespoke clothing.

• They look adorable as well. What is more, ready-to-wear clothing is casual, informal, can be worn everyday and is very practical.

• They are made for ordinary people, not for representatives of the upper-class society. This apparel comes in various sizes. 

• Haute couture clothes are expensive and luxurious, in such dresses .

• Couture fashion designers are very popular and are aimed only for extremely wealthy clients.

• It is the ultimate in custom fashion, with each item of clothing being designed specifically to fit the measurements, body type, taste and colouring of a specific client.

• Haute couture is by nature very expensive, and only a limited number of people in the world can afford this type of fashion.

Conclusion• Ready-to-wear apparel is generally

mass-produced in factories, using standardized patterns and inexpensive construction methods.

• It is manufactured this way to produce low-cost garments.

• Fit most people, as the majority of people fit into a standard size.

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