How Long Does It Take to Create a Couture Piece?

We absolutely adore the Ralph and Russo dress that Constance Wu wore to the LA premiere of Crazy Rich Asians.

And no wonder. Her beautiful evening gown was created in the finest of haute couture traditions: lashings of extravagant adornment (crystals and diamonds), nearly 500 hours of meticulous hand-stitched embroidery, and about 275 hours of further work to finish the dress. Even if your maths is terrible, you've probably clocked that this adds up to an extraordinary amount of time for one, single piece.

But that’s the thing about haute couture. It is a term that’s thrown about, accompanied by price tags that to the uninitiated, seem preposterous. However, just as the finest painter can command eye watering fees for their work, so too is a piece of true couture worthy of such value. An haute-couture article of clothing is more than simply a jacket or a dress – it is a work of intricate art.

Blake Lively’s crimson hand-embroidered, bejewelled Versace dress, worn to the 2018 Met Gala, took 600 hours to make

Couture fabric is fabric of the highest quality, that has been detailed, stitched and embellished, using time-intensive techniques (often by hand), by the most skilled and experienced designers and artisans.

Pastel Floral Hand Painted Peach Silk Gazar

This brown, grey and amaranth angora wool Chanel jacket took 986 hours to make. Over 225,000 sequins, fastidiously stitched on, cover the luxury fabric.