What Goes Into Making a Chanel Haute Couture Coat?

Haute couture is the crème de la crème of luxury fashion. Made to order by a mere handful of approved design houses that adhere to the rigid requirements as defined by the Syndical Chamber for Haute Couture in Paris, the garments can cost upwards of $100,000. There are about 2,000 haute couture clients in the world, and of them only 200 or so are considered to be regular buyers (the rest just wait for the sales. Ha.). Of course, Chanel is one of the makers of these coveted works of art that so few are fortunate enough to own.

So, what goes into making an haute couture garment? To start, it's the uniqueness of design, the expert workmanship and the materials are of the highest quality. They are sewn, embroidered and beaded by hand, and several hundred hours can be required to complete one piece (not including smoke breaks. I joke - I imagine there's a daily sniff-inspection to keep the garments smelling like a cloud in paradise).

Chanel offered a glimpse into how one of the coats from their Fall 2008 Haute Couture collection was created (the final runway look pictured above). This exquisite piece of art-as-outerware took specially-skilled artisans three hundred painstaking hours to make. Here's what happened after Karl Lagerfeld handed his sketch of the herringbone coat to the premier of the atelier:

Step 1: The herringbone patterns are drawn on muslin

Step 2: The herringbone patterns are reproduced on fabric

Step 3: For the sleeves, the tweed herringbone designs

are placed on satin.

Step 4: The sleeves are then transferred to a wooden form

Step 5: The tweed herringbone is placed by hand on the
satin to ensure a perfect fit.

                     Step 6: Rigorous checking is carried out during the
                     mounting of the pieces, to ensure the proportions are
                     true to the design.

Step 7: The lining is affixed inside the coat.

Step 8: Shoes are selected to go with the coat. The shoes are handmade
in Massaro ateliers.

Step 9: The all-important fittings, during which final tiny but

sometimes crucial alterations are made.

Step 10: The look is ready and the model (lucky Kim Noorda) is prepped backstage at the Grand Palais in Paris before Chanel’s haute couture Fall 2008 show

Here are a few of my favourite pieces from the show: