haute couture
Americannoun
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high fashion; the most fashionable and influential dressmaking and designing.
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the fashions so created.
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the leading dressmaking establishments in the world of fashion, considered collectively.
noun
Usage
What does haute couture mean? Haute couture refers to the world of high fashion and custom-made garments. The phrase comes from French and translates as “high sewing” or “high dressmaking.” It is synonymous with high fashion. Haute couture can refer to high fashion designers collectively, their profession, the clothes designed by them, or their businesses. The word couture can also be used by itself as a shortening of haute couture or to refer to or describe clothing that was designed by a fashion designer or has that level of quality. Example: She’s known for wearing haute couture looks that are straight from the runway.
Etymology
Origin of haute couture
From French
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Les Bleus came to America with the most devastating attack in the game and all the swagger of a country that has perfected Champagne, haute couture, and Kylian Mbappé.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Duran Lantink was appointed as the permanent creative lead at Jean Paul Gautier in April last year - with his inaugural haute couture show much anticipated.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
The team from the land of Champagne, Renoir and haute couture has prepared for the tournament’s physical play, trash talk and persistent fouling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
"The Devil Wears Prada 2" debuted atop the North American box office this weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday, 20 years after the hit original took audiences inside the cutthroat world of haute couture.
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
Then the fad spread to two fashion designers who used the shoes to peddle something else — haute couture.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
