As a designer who has made a stand against mass-produced, factory-made collections to embrace all the hand skills and crafts that make couture so special, I feel this is not a positive step. There are plenty of shows for ready-to-wear, and it’s important Couture Fashion Week should remain a show-case for designers who work hard to keep a dying art going. The number of couture houses has decreased since 1945 when the Syndicale first introduced strict guidelines on who should be granted the title Haute Couture. At that time 100 houses bore the label, today it is only 15 historic houses such as Chanel and Christian Dior, along with contemporary houses like Gianbattista Valli.

Obviously the Syndicale are looking at ways to keep the Couture Fashion Week (now only three days), going and have picked ready-to-wear companies who work with independent ateliers and embrace crafts in their designs. However if the Syndicale rewrote their strict guidelines they would be able to accredit more couture houses. I agree members should have an in-house atelier where garments are custom-fitted to clients but the rule that they have to employ a team of 20 people is prohibitive.