French Designers

In France, haute couture is not a compliment. It is a legal designation, protected since 1945, and the list of houses entitled to use the words is set each year by a commission convened under the Ministry of Industry and administered through the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. A qualifying house makes to a client’s measurements in its own Paris atelier, with fittings, and shows two collections a year in Paris. The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode runs the calendar those shows sit on, which is a separate job. That kind of rule making is why French fashion argues with itself so productively.

Coveti carries 18 French houses, among them Schiaparelli, Alaïa, Lemaire, Saint Laurent, Jacquemus, Cartier, Patou and Polène, and the argument runs straight through them. Schiaparelli is back at 21 Place Vendôme, the address Elsa Schiaparelli took in 1935, and it still treats a garment as an object to be looked at. Alaïa answers from the Marais, where Azzedine Alaïa fitted clothes directly on the body and Pieter Mulier has kept the method. Lemaire sits further out again, indifferent to spectacle, in the register Christophe Lemaire developed while designing Hermès womenswear from 2010 to 2014.

The rest is less theoretical. Saint Laurent still sells the line it drew with Le Smoking in 1966. Simon Porte Jacquemus keeps pulling Provence into Paris. Cartier has the Tank, designed by Louis Cartier in 1917. Bags come from Polène, Destree and Ateliers Auguste. Outerwear and shearling from Yves Salomon, in Paris since 1920, and Nour Hammour. Evening from Alexandre Vauthier and Dice Kayek. Patou, bought by LVMH in 2018 and relaunched the following year, and AZ Factory, Alber Elbaz’s last house, sit in between. Maje, Casablanca and Ursul complete the 18.

Frequently asked questions

Which French designers does Coveti carry?

Coveti carries 18 French houses: Alaïa, Alexandre Vauthier, Ateliers Auguste, AZ Factory, Cartier, Casablanca, Destree, Dice Kayek, Jacquemus, Lemaire, Maje, Nour Hammour, Patou, Polène, Saint Laurent, Schiaparelli, Ursul and Yves Salomon. Ready to wear is the bulk of it, with leather goods from Polène, Destree and Ateliers Auguste, shearling from Yves Salomon, and watches and jewellery from Cartier. Nearly all of them design out of Paris.

What is the difference between haute couture and French ready to wear?

Haute couture is protected by French law rather than by fashion convention. A commission convened under the Ministry of Industry, administered through the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, sets the list of houses entitled to the words each year. A qualifying house makes to a client’s measurements in its own Paris atelier, with fittings, and shows two collections a year in Paris. Ready to wear is cut to standard sizes and sold finished. Schiaparelli shows on the Paris couture calendar, which the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode runs, but what Coveti sells is ready to wear.

What size will a French label be at Coveti?

Coveti lists every French house on the UK ladder, so there is nothing to convert at checkout. A French 36 shows as UK 8, a 38 as UK 10 and a 40 as UK 12, which is the French number minus 28. Letter sizing is left as the house cut it. Country of origin is stated on every product page.

Which French label is best for understated, minimal clothes?

Lemaire. Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran design for volume and drape rather than logo, and the house is known for the Croissant bag and soft tailoring. Ursul works a similar register at lower prices. For the opposite instinct, Schiaparelli is the theatrical end of the same city.

What is Alaïa known for?

Azzedine Alaïa cut and fitted garments directly on the body rather than sketching them first, which is why the house is associated with stretch knit dressing, laser cut leather and exact seaming. He worked from rue de Moussy in the Marais and died in 2017. Pieter Mulier has been creative director of Alaïa since 2021.