Over this past century, the demise of haute couture has been pronounced every 20 years. What is different this time around is that impending death of this ivory tower industry is real and herculean efforts are underway not only to resuscitate it, but to make sure it survives well past future grim proclamations. In 1993 under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and the Chambre Syndicale de Couture,rules governing French high fashion regulations were relaxed. The minimum number of garments required for the biannual press show was reduced from 75 to 50. Couturiers are no longer required to present clothes on live models to private clients and the minimum number of workers in the ateliers is now 20. This was done to ease financial pressures that were choking existing houses (once numbering 22, today there are only 14). Still this was not enough. In order to regenerate worldwide interest and prop Paris back up on its fashion capital pedestal, Didier Grumbach, president of the Chambre Syndicale de Couture,invited young designers to show under a new appellation called "Nouvelle Couture."The main restrictions here are that the house must be situated in France and present a minimum of 25 garments. Still, in the world of style, where haute couture is a notorious money loser and where the global success of GAP, streetware and "fashion basics" has altered the dress habits of nearly everyone on the planet, why would a young person even be tempted to flirt with grande dame couture? "There is a market for it," firmly insists Christophe Rouxel. With his six-foot-tall frame and bushy brown hair, the 30-something Frenchman looks like a young Calvin Klein and has as much determination to make it despite the odds. "Freedom is born out of constraint," he quotes Mozart. Rouxel is frank during this interview, laying all of his cards on the table, candidly exposing his feelings about style, the fashion industry and the business he has almost single handedly built. "We're doing just great," Christophe beams with reason. He has watched his sales mushroom from 600,000 francs in his first year to 3.5 million in the second to a projected 17.5 million expected this year. "My backers are very happy. We're a real couture house with a real clientele." "For me, haute couture has always been about art and culture. It is the ultimate expression of luxury. In couture there are three directions you can take: the traditional Parisian school of basic little suits, wide brimmed hats and wearable little dresses; mode spectacle(theatrical fashion) which exists solely to sell perfume and accessories; or as a laboratory of ideas used to create a product for people in search of something different, something beautiful. I've chosen the third direction: haute couture as a laboratory. "Curiously enough, the traditional French press does not understand me. They look around and say, 'What the hell is this about?' They stick up their noses and one doesn't like it because her friend at another magazine doesn't like it. Or they come and snap three photos, see nothing and tell me how F-A-B it all is. The Anglo-Saxon press, on the other hand, loves and embraces what I do. Every week they want to borrow clothes for their photo shoots." Last September saw the opening of Rouxel's boutique at 77, rue du faubourg St-Honoré. The entire store has the hushed elegance of a couture house where modernity flirts with nouveau classicism. The cream white 19th century woodwork in the main floor and the rooms upstairs are contrasted by the brushed silver and gray walls of the corridors and staircase. Blown glass vases are suspended from the ceiling, lending a light and fanciful touch to rooms graced with modern renditions of period furniture upholstered in Easter bonbon-colored brocades. "If fashion is dead, it is because the worlds of couture and finance won't accept anything new. Much of what is considered to be 'fashion' today is created by the photographers, stylists and magazine editors. They have contributed to the death of fashion though their lack of comprehension and compassion for this industry. It's not because you write a few lines or that you snap a few pictures that you create fashion. We're in a minimalist era. You know, dreary clothes by dreary designers for dreary women who know nothing about style. "On the other hand, I'm seeing the arrival of aristocrats and upper society youth who are concerned about what they see and are looking for alternatives. They are saying 'yes' to gaiety, 'yes' to liveliness, 'yes' to something new. These are my customers. We sell three to four dresses per day to wealthy, intelligent, lively women who walk into our store with the idea of purchasing something. These are women who have evolved with the times and understand what we're doing. I have the feeling of experiencing the same beginnings as those of Saint Laurent or M. de Givenchy at the debut of their careers. "We are a team of 27 here. We've involved ourselves in the true spirit of couture. We are here for that segment of society that says 'yes' to eccentricity. We're earning money and given the times we live in globalization and internationalism are planning to form our own group. On the other hand, we have refused to engage in certain types of businesses. We are not here to make perfume. "Weddings mark a very important moment in life and this is addressed with a full wedding service. I work in the old fashioned way. I am the one who takes each of my clients measurements then creates a dress with her figure in mind. It is me, not my assistant, who personally looks after the woman. Who do you know who is currently doing that now? Who knows how to do that today? We don't take women for fools. In today's world of business, you have to respect your clients. I look after each client completely. I'm the 'family doctor.'" From an early age, it was always Christophe's dream to become a fashion designer. "I've always loved the scent of a woman. I remember being in the living room of one of my aunt's houses when she arrived. There was such a feeling of luxury surrounding her. From that point on I felt a real vocation. As I began my studies in fashion, I wondered if I really had what it took to make it. There is a certain type of education that doesn't exist. Taste or talent are not things you learn in school. "I studied at the Chambre Syndicale de Coutureschool. Afterwards, I worked as an assistant in the couture house of Yves Saint Laurent but soon felt totally out of place. I went back to school to IFM ( Institut Français de la Mode) majoring in finance and strategy. Afterwards I found myself creating promotional events. I designed lots of collections for other firms. I laugh when I look back. I made 'streetwear' before there was grunge. I met Alain Wertheimer, CEO of Chanel, who hired me to design a line of clothes for Holland and Holland, a London-based firm catering to the hunting world. "I returned to France with the intent of raising 100,000 francs to start my own business. Impossible! Not one bank would lend me the money. Finally, in 1997, I was approached by a wealthy woman who said she'd pay me out of her retirement savings to make a dress for her daughter. I told her I would prefer to call it a loan. Eventually, I paid her back. With the money I took out an ad and that's how I began to attract clients. "My customer is someone who wants me to completely take care of her from top to toe. These are women of a certain social echelon who do not want to make a mistake. My job is to understand their needs and answer the demand. For that reason I consider myself a psychologist or a doctor. "One day while dining with an old friend, we began talking about things going on at Renault. Across the way there was someone who overheard our conversation and told us how he knew the president of Renault. We laughed and told him we knew the queen of England, Jacques Chirac, etc. Fifteen days later he called and explained that he worked in a financial firm and that he would be interested in investing in an haute couture house and a boutique. I explained that I would accept only if I could remain the principal shareholder. And that's how all of this began in 1997. Today we are planning to open stores in Japan and the United States. I believe that couture has a future but it will not resemble what it looks like right now. It will always exist because there will always be those who love beautiful things." |
