Couture is made to order for a specific customer and is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and is sewn with extreme attention to detail.  While couture can be used to describe any custom-fitting dress, haute couture is a protected name that can only be used by firms that meet a certain standard.  Currently the ten haute couture designers are Coco Chanel, Pierre Balman, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Louis Feraud, Yves Saint Laurent, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Christian Lacroix.  Each of these designers has a unique style and specializes in a certain type of dress.  The price of a couture outfit is dependant upon the amount of time it takes the designer to create it.  Generally creating an everyday outfit, like a suit, takes about 100 to 150 hours of manual work, however an evening gown can take as long as 1,000 hours.  A haute couture dress can cost anywhere from $16,000 and up.

On the runway, couture has a reputation of having wilds hats and outfits in either blacks, reds, and whites, or in outrageously bright oranges, pinks, and greens.  Last year, in his Spring/Summer collection Jean Paul Gaultier used a cross-gender theme, sending his models down the runway wearing traditionally cut tuxedo jackets embellished with multicolored flower embroidery.  During the same time, John Galliano, a designer for Christian Dior, had designs that were greatly influenced by his trip to Japan which inspired kimono style gowns and bonsai hats.