TZAIMS LUKSUS IN THE LUXURY HAUTE COUTURE IN PARIS

Tzaims Luksus & The Paris Haute Couture & Designer Logos.

TZAIMS IN YANGON 2025 93 Years old

When you buy full luxury price you are not only buying the product but the packaging, the overhead, rent, advertising, public relations Paris fashion week, and the employees worldwide and the quality is the same whether made in France, Italy. Spain, US, China, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia or Africa since now quality is in the material and where it is made is the same everywhere.   

Haute Couture is simply a French term meaning "high cut" It is a general term meaning custom made to order.  It doesn't have to mean one of a kind.  A model clothing item can be made put on a model on a runway and made for many but custom to fit.  Everyone should know that.

 What has changed since around 1950 is that a couturier, or fashion designer added what we call Ready to Wear, in French, Pret a Porte.  These are clothing items made in seversl sizes that are sized to fit the average human body.  In Men't tailoring the British call it Bespoke.

Real Bespoke and real Haute Couture is when a client wants something no one else has and the cost is no limit.  Let's go back to 1960 when the United States was leading in both haute couture and ready to wear that really fit the American figure in ready to wear, whereas the French Pret a Porte, unless custom made, didn't fit the average American woman or man.  New York became the fashion center in innovation and style leaving Paris with its classic style and often outlandish creations a bit, no  actually, retro.  Anything was possible.  

Lets now go to pricing.  Here there was a difference on both sides of the pond. Concentrating now only on women's fashion.  Prices on both sides were about the same in New York and Paris.  Concentrating on only cocktail dresses and evening gowns in New York unless studded with gem stones and Diamonds a cocktail dress retailed for $375.00 USD and an evening gown at $550.00.  Why and what?

Depending on the silk price, since this was the basic fabric used, a silk chiffon or mousseline in the US cost for 60 inches wide was $1.00 a yard.  silk lining could cost about $0.50 cents a yard 45 inches wide.  For an all silk chiffon with lining 3 yards gown it, would take either 3 or 5 yards, making one with 5 yard the cost for the materials, linings, zippers and buttons about $10.00 to $15.00 dollars.  Of course labor for hand rolled hems and machine stitching by expert, highest paid dressmakers would perhaps cost $25.00  to $50.00 depending upon details.  Now in the 1960s designers sold ready to wear to specialty stores and department stores wholesale so the wholesale price would be about $263.00.  Retail added 50% making it $550.00.  Remember the designer had to double the selling price 50% to cover cost and make a profit whic included rent, utilities, models and miscellaneous expenses.

Similar in Paris but in the 1960s anything coming in from Paris, even by one person coming through customs, paid a duty.  That duty could double the French price.

Now fabrics.  The best fabrics came from France, Italy and Switzerland,  American designers flew there and selected them or bought them from New York agents but duty on a French chiffon could cost $5.00 up to a crepe du Chine $10.00 a yard.  Only a few designers used foreign fabrics.  Most used American, Japanese or Chinese silk costing $1.00 a yard or less depending on width.

Now when I started designing by tie dying chiffon I used 60 inch Japanese chiffon.  It was as good as a French mousseline in quality.  After tie dying by hand I couldn't sell it for only $1.00 a yard to a designer or what most wanted to pay $1.50 a yard for a print. I charged what they would pay for a French, Italian or Swiss printed silk.  So I offered my first tie dyed silks for Count Ferdinand Sarmi for $10.00 a yard so my first sample order from Sarmi was $300.00 for 6 - 5 yard color ways.

Sarmi had no problem since I was simply charging European prices with duty included.  That set my prices since I offered limited, exclusive fabrics made to order. Haute couture fabrics.

I kept that price for later hand silk screen printed chiffon.  For the Burke Amey panels printed on French Bianchini Ferier double woven silk crepe that cost me $10.00 A yard and for all silk printed panels that were 70 inches long and 45 inches wide I charged $100.00 per panel .  Why so high?  These were 70 inch Silk screens, taking 4 printers to print each colour with three colours, trapping, to get 6 colours in "blotch printing" which no other printer attempted as it was too risky.  Still it was cost effective for the designer taking one panel per gown.  They could charge more wholesale.

In the 1960s designers didn't have boutiques only fashion showrooms and never offered logo tee shirts or blue jeans.  

Now today.  China reveals they make 80% of all western luxury goods and a Birkin Hermes bag that sells for $38,000 USD costs $1,400 USD to mske.  Now everyone knows since about 1968 logos became valuable, labels always allowed higher prices but inflation drove rent, salaries prices for rare material sky high so if Hermes sells it for that huge a markup you ane not onlt paying for logo and label but their overhead.  Luxury bohtiques in the highest rent areas worldwide.  

They set the price based on what high income clients can afford.  Of course people with little money want to appear wealthy so they buy to impress.  They cannot complane if that Birkin Hermes or Dior bag cost $1,400 for $38,000 or $50.00 for $10,000 since they are paying for the high end image.  The bag means nothing.  It is the logo, the prestige.  You either can afford it or break you bank for it.  No one is forcing you so you aren't getting ripped off.

Do they have a complaint that it is expertly crafted in China useing materials supplied by Hermes and Dior?.  No.  Everyone knows all European luxury goods is now for 30 years made in China.

Now when is luxury goods not luxury goods?  When it's sport clothes or sport shoes, Niki, Adidas, H & M, Zara, Banana Republic, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Kline, Levi, Hugo Boss , Coach, clothing lines from sports figures like P. Ditty, MADONA,  or the Kardashions, Ivanka Trump, Tommy Hilfiger, pop singers,  This is not luxury.  It is called high end.  Tee shirts with logos are high end sport,  Action wear can be high end, hoodies, designer jeans, high end.

Now couture is changing with materials costing huge amounts if with Diamonds, Emeralds, pure gold and elaborat and hand embroidered hand woven silk fabrics.  A gown from a couturier can start at $100,000.00 to $1.million USD.  

Now one problem with French and Italian fashion houses, some are not.  Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci are leather goods manufacturers, not designer houses.  They added clothing lines very recently.  All those designer houses in Paris  and Italy are dead design houses with wanabe designers hired and fired after one collection.  They are global mega corporations like LVMH.  Of course the public is blinded by their elaborate advertising, their magnificent elegant boutiques, dazzeling packaging.  All perfect for the want to look rich public.

So you spend Hundreds of thousands of dollars on a collection of expensive logo hand bags.  Fine.  Be happy.  Or go to China or on-line and buy cheap with no label or logo and made in China label.  You don't need the label.  Or do you?  If you do, then pay the price and be happy.