Between 'French Fashion' and 'Fashion à la Française': the Role of the State and Conglomerates in the Haute Couture Employers' Union
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26563/dobras.v19i46.1978Keywords:
Haute Couture, French State, Conglomerates, Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, GlobalizationAbstract
This article investigates the progressive decline of the French State’s influence within the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the employers' union that regulates Haute Couture, and the growing prominence of entrepreneurs from luxury conglomerates within this organization. This shift is linked to the transformation of Haute Couture from a form of ‘French fashion’ to a ‘fashion à la française’ at the turn of the 21st century. Drawing on Vincent Dubé-Sénécal (2021), the article first shows how French state intervention established recognition criteria for maisons, consolidating Haute Couture as an authentically French practice. However, market globalization led to the acquisition of maisons by conglomerates and the integration of these entrepreneurs into the union, resulting in adaptations and redefinitions. Using Luc Boltanski and Arnaud Esquerre’s (2020) theory of the economy of enrichment, Haute Couture is examined as a global and highly exclusive business, as also argued by Renato Ortiz (2019). At this stage, the reference to France persists, but it now evokes a ‘fashion à la française’, a symbolically constructed nation, in Michel Nicolau Netto’s (2021) terms, rather than a geographical space. The research is based on publications about the union, organizational archives, information from the official website, and French government documents. Triangulating these materials made it possible to reconstruct the history of the union and develop the article’s arguments.
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![A imagem apresenta uma composição artística abstrata, dominada por tons intensos de vermelho, rosa e azul-escuro. Sobre as camadas de tinta e textura, há traços e manchas expressivos, com inscrições manuscritas sobrepostas, parcialmente legíveis. À direita, na vertical, aparece a palavra “[dossiê]” em letras brancas. A pintura tem aparência de uma mistura de cores vibrantes e gestos pictóricos, evocando profundidade e movimento.](https://dobras.emnuvens.com.br/public/journals/1/submission_1978_2678_coverImage_pt_BR.jpg)
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