Paris Fashion Week — Haute Couture

Paris Haute Couture week is the apex of the global fashion system — a week each January and July when the ateliers of the great fashion houses open their doors to an invited few, presenting extraordinary hand-crafted collections that represent months of work by the most skilled petites mains in the world.

Unlike prêt-à-porter, Haute Couture is governed by strict regulations of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Only a handful of maisons meet the criteria — Chanel, Dior, Valentino, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier among them. Each show is a theatrical, intimate event, presented to an audience of clients, press and cultural figures in historic Parisian locations.

For the privileged guest, Paris during Couture week is a sensory feast. The city's finest restaurants, galleries and cultural spaces are at their most vibrant, while access to atelier visits, fittings and designer dinners — for those with the right connections — transforms a fashion week into a once-in-a-decade experience.