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Haute Couture, derived from the French for "high sewing" or "high dressmaking", refers to the design and manufacturing of exclusive custom-fitted fashions. It originally referred to French fashion as a whole and in France, Haute couture is, itself, a "protected name" that can be used only by firms that conform to certain well-defined and extremely challenging standards. However, the term is often used freely to include all high-fashion custom-fitted clothing, whether it is produced in Paris or in other fashion capitals such as New York, London, and Milan.

Haute couture is often made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques.

Official Haute Couture houses

As of spring 2006, there are ten official haute couture houses:

1.Adeline André

2.Chanel

3.Christian Dior

4.Jean-Paul Gaultier

5.Givenchy

6.Christian Lacroix

7.Scherrer

8.Dominique Sirop

9.Frank Sorbier

10.Emanuel Ungaro

Foreign members in 2006:

Giorgio Armani Prive is also shown during the couture shows as a foreign member invited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne

Versace is also shown during the couture shows as a foreign member invited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne

Valentino has also had a haute couture line for decades

Previous members:

Julien Fournié is the last creative director of the House of Torrente which, until 2005, was among the very few official haute couture houses.

The Chambre also invites some designers to participate in the shows, even if they do not meet the strict requirements for entrance to the Chambre. The list of guests will fluctuate from year to year.

Recent guests include: Chado Ralph Rucci, Pascal Humber, Philip Treacy, Martin Margiela, and Viktor and Rolf.