What is the relevance of India Couture Week? Turns out, a lot

With the upcoming 15th edition of the FDCI India Couture Week, we find out whether couture fashion weeks are still relevant, particularly when two shows featuring ready-to-wear fashion focus on similar lines of handcrafted clothes

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of couture is how unrelatable it is in terms of its wearability. Think Valentino’s red rose dress from Fall 2022 couture collection or Iris van Herpen’s futuristic 3D-style gown. In India, however, couture is usually spoken of in tandem with wedding wear and occasion wear, which are painstakingly handcrafted and hand-embroidered. But with the growing mindfulness surrounding sustainability—when India’s ready-to-wear collections are also handcrafted, handmade and hand-embroidered meticulously—what sets couture and prêt-à-porter, as the French call it, apart today? We speak to industry experts and designers to understand the difference and what each means to them.

So what exactly is couture?

In an interview with CNN last year, Daniel Roseberry, the creative head of Maison Schiaparelli said that “people have this notion of couture, that it exists inside of a glass box," referring to the exclusive nature of couture. The idea of couture being exclusive is not baseless as the stereotype around it is associated with the rich one per cent of the world for whom it’s a chance to splurge and indulge. But that’s not what couture is about at all.

Technically, ‘couture,’ in French, means ‘high sewing,’ which in truth remains the true essence as the idea of couture is to provide a luxury piece of wearable art that is painstakingly made by hand over numerous days, if not months. And India stands at the epicentre of this concept thanks to its unique and diverse craftsmanship. But when it comes to its emotional and commercial aspect, the meaning of couture hits different for different designers. For designer Kunal Rawal, who has been in the fashion industry for 15 years now, it is driven by moods and led by feelings. “Couture to me is best defined as a feeling you get–something that makes you feel luxurious or special. For a lot of people, anything custom-made or bespoke, featuring a detail or a colour they love, can be couture. For me, though, couture will always be wearable art that is made especially for you, that appeals the most to you, that is functional for you. Something that isn’t governed by a price tag, just beauty,” says Rawal.

At the base level, couture in India translates to wedding wear, occasion wear and, of course, clothes for the red carpet, where, as Rawal said, the price tag isn’t the criteria. Where else would you wear the extravagantly sculpted gown that Gaurav Gupta spent 3500 hours making for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for this year’s Cannes Film Festival? Or the dramatic Sabaysachi-meets-Schiaparelli creation that Natasha Poonawala wore at the Met Gala earlier this year?

Costume designer and couturier Anju Modi, who has been an integral part of the fashion industry since 1990, believes that although the idea of couture keeps evolving with time and the consumer’s sensibilities at that time, its core is quite simple. “While the meaning of couture has changed a lot for consumers as well as couturiers, its essence is still intact, which ultimately is the making of a well-structured and tailored artistic piece of the ensemble that combines luxury with elegance and comfort,” explains Modi, whose upcoming couture collection ‘The Road Less Travelled’ draws inspiration from her travels in the remote parts of India.

Ready-to-wear versus couture

If ‘well-tailored’ and ‘well-constructed’ are the benchmarks of couture, how does that differ from the ready-to-wear collections of Indian designers that are also seeped in the richness of handicrafts? Rawal, who agrees that while ready-to-wear collections follow similar crafting rules and methods of couture, their wearability and price points are fairly non-negotiable. “With couture, you have a lot more freedom of expression. It allows a designer the freedom to focus on whatever they want to do. In our latest couture collection, you will find a lot of exaggerated silhouettes and shapes, elements that bring attention to surface textures, unique materials and fabric palates and lots of tone on tone–everything you see will be amped up quite a bit. The focus is on creating the most beautiful pieces, not limited by catering to a certain price point,” says Rawal, who also had a ready-to-wear label called DStress in 2006.

For Modi, couture involves a lot of intensive labour, which may not be the case for ready-to-wear. “Of course, the Indian ready-to-wear industry focuses on handcrafting a lot; it’s ingrained, as Indian culture itself is so rich in art and craft. But when we talk about couture, we talk about the intricate detailing as well as the delicate and laborious work performed by the artisans to make a designer's vision come to life. Couture, being labour- and time-intensive, is also bespoke and made to embrace the personality and the elegance of the wearer and that is what sets it apart from ready-to-wear,” she explains.

For Sunil Sethi, Chairman of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), while prêt collections can be handmade, hand-embroidered and handcrafted, he insists that it is vastly distinct from the bespoke nature of couture. “If a designer who takes part in a ready-to-wear show decides to present a more elaborate collection, then it’s up to them. But generally speaking, those who buy at multi-designer stores are only looking for wearable clothes at ready-to-wear shows. Young and new designers who participate in ready-to-wear shows like Lakme Fashion Week or Blender’s Pride Fashion Week don’t have their own stores at the early stages of their careers, which is where the role of the buyers comes in. On the other hand, couture designers are more established and have set up their own flagship stores, which usually houses only their bespoke couture pieces,” explains Sethi, who has been associated with the FDCI since 2008, after being a buyer for notable stores such as Selfridges, Golf & Co, Tsum, The Conran Shop, Habitat and Coin. He also points out at the extravagance and the spectacle that couture week offers. “At India Couture Week, every show is treated like a finale show. As a council, we give more than 20 hours to designers to make their sets. And these designers have the ability and the funds to spend as much as crores to create couture collections. That’s not the case for prêt or ready-to-wear shows,” he adds.

While money and wearability may be the benchmark difference between couture and ready-to-wear in India, how does Indian couture stand in front of its international counterpart?

How is Paris Couture Week different from India Couture Week?

Designer Rahul Mishra, who recently showcased his designs at the Haute Couture Week in Paris and is also scheduled to present at India Couture Week, mentioned in our exclusive interview (read here) that it’s unfair to compare couture week in Paris to the one in India, as the former is more about exploring one’s artistic side, while at the latter, you have to find a balance between art and commerce.

Rawal agrees and points out that it’s the market and the target audience that also make a difference. “Paris mainly caters to a global fashion-conscious audience that has been consuming couture for a very long time. Indian couture is usually geared for traditional occasions and weddings,” he says. According to Sethi, France has stricter guidelines when it comes to couture week, whereas in India, it’s a bit more relaxed. “The two markets are completely unrelated. Our only norms [at FDCI] in order to be a part of the India Couture Week are that designers should have a good base of bespoke customers and they should have their flagship store and workshops, especially for brides who wish to get everything personalised for their special events, which usually is not the case for couturiers in the West,” he says.

Modi, too, agrees with Sethi when it comes to France operating under stricter rules and regulations, but believes that doesn’t take away from the value that couture week in India has. “For India, couture is not new, it has always been a part of Indian culture with its rich and diverse handicrafts and traditions. And now with FDCI officiating it with an annual event, we are paying back our dues to our vibrant heritage and culture,” she concludes.

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