Cocktail Dresses

The reproduction of haute couture had already been happening for decades in the United States. One of FIT’s founding fathers, Max Meyer, was buying for American cloak and suit manufacturer A. Beller & Co. and started officially licensing garments to be reproduced by their ready-to-wear operations in New York before the turn of the century.  Licensing became an important source of business for couture houses, granting department stores and manufacturers in America the right to authentically copy haute couture. Licensing also affected the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, which went through changes in regulations as high fashion moved into the commercial realm and struggled to maintain the exclusivity of the world of couture.