• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.58 no.7
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• pp.164-179
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• 2008

The Purposes of this study are to analyze the couture-like design characteristics expressed in modern fashion and to grasp its sociocultural meaning. For this, the documentary study and practical case study have been executed. Fashion writings and visual sources in Gap Pret-a-porter Collection, www.style.com, www.firstviewkorea.com are used. The results are as follows. First, couture ran be featured as a luxurious made-to-order design for individual clients with high quality fabrics, hand-craftsmanship, painstakingly perfect details and finishing. It is valued on authentic originality, uniqueness, aestheticism, and luxury. As the relationship between couture and mass fashion has changed, there appeared not only traditional couture for few privileged people, but also demi-couture which bridges the gap between luxurious couture and pret-a-porter. Second, couture-like designs in modern fashion are classified as (1)the adaption of house archive (2)retro with couture-like silhouette (3)hand-craftsmanship in details and finishing (4)individualization for only one client. They have sociocultural meanings, which are the reaction to the crisis of originality, new luxury for differentiation, the pursuit of new individualism thinking. Ultimately, it ran be thought that couture-like design in modern fashion results from the mutual needs between elitism fashion designer struggling in the hegemony of originality and reproduction, and modern consumer seeking for luxury, individualization.