Reference
Couture & atelier glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms used in couture houses, bridal ateliers and bespoke tailoring — from haute couture and toile to deposits, lead time and margin.
- Alteration
- A change made to an existing or completed garment to improve fit or update the style, such as taking in a waist or shortening a hem.
- Atelier
- A workshop or studio where couture and made-to-order garments are designed and made by hand. In fashion, "atelier" also refers to the team of skilled makers themselves.
- Balance
- The remaining amount owed on an order after the deposit, usually collected before or at delivery.
- Basting
- Long, loose temporary stitches used to hold pieces together for a fitting before final sewing.
- Bespoke
- A garment cut and made from scratch to an individual client, using a pattern drafted specifically for them. Common in tailoring (e.g. bespoke suits).
- Bias
- The 45-degree diagonal of woven fabric. Cutting "on the bias" gives stretch and drape, used for fluid gowns.
- Block
- A basic, foundational pattern (also called a sloper) for a body shape, used as the starting point to draft new styles or made-to-measure garments.
- Bottleneck
- A stage in the production pipeline that slows everything down because work piles up there faster than it clears.
- Capsule
- A small, tightly edited collection of coordinating pieces.
- Collection
- A group of garments designed and released together, often tied to a season or theme.
- Cost per metre
- The price an atelier pays for one metre of a given fabric, used to calculate the material cost of each garment.
- Dart
- A folded, stitched wedge of fabric that shapes flat cloth to the curves of the body, most often at the bust, waist, or back.
- Demi-couture
- A tier between haute couture and ready-to-wear: largely hand-finished, made-to-order pieces that use some atelier techniques without full haute-couture certification.
- Deposit
- An up-front payment a client makes to confirm a custom order, typically 30–50% of the total, before production begins.
- Ease
- The difference between body measurements and garment measurements that allows movement and comfort, or creates a designed silhouette.
- Fabric consumption
- The amount of fabric (usually measured in metres) used to make a garment, a key driver of material cost.
- Fitting
- An appointment where the client tries on the garment in progress so the maker can mark adjustments. Couture and bridal pieces typically need several fittings.
- Grading
- Scaling a pattern up or down to create a range of sizes from a single base pattern.
- Haute couture
- The highest tier of custom fashion: one-of-a-kind garments hand-made to a client’s exact measurements. In France the term is legally protected and limited to houses certified by the Fédération de la Haute Couture.
- Hem
- The finished lower edge of a garment, folded and secured to set its final length.
- Interfacing
- A material applied between fabric layers to add structure or stiffness to areas such as collars, cuffs, and waistbands.
- Lead time
- The total time from confirming an order to delivering the finished garment.
- Lining
- An inner layer of fabric that finishes the inside of a garment, helps it hang well, and hides construction.
- Lookbook
- A set of photographs presenting the pieces in a collection, used to show clients and buyers.
- Made-to-measure
- A garment built by adjusting an existing base pattern (block) to a client’s measurements — more personalised than ready-to-wear, less than fully bespoke.
- Margin
- What remains of a garment’s price after its material and labour costs are subtracted — the core measure of whether an order is profitable.
- Notion
- A small sewing supply such as a zip, button, hook, thread, or boning used to complete a garment.
- On-time delivery rate
- The share of orders delivered by their promised date — a primary measure of an atelier’s reliability.
- Pattern
- The set of paper or digital templates used to cut the fabric pieces of a garment.
- Production pipeline
- The ordered sequence of stages every order moves through, from intake to delivery, used to track and manage work in an atelier.
- Production stage
- A defined step in making a garment — for example cutting, sewing, fitting, finishing, or quality control.
- Quality control (QC)
- A checkpoint where a finished garment or stage is inspected against standards before it moves on or ships.
- Ready-to-wear
- Garments produced in standard sizes for sale off the rack, not made to an individual client. Also called prêt-à-porter.
- Seam allowance
- The margin of fabric between the stitch line and the cut edge, left so seams can be sewn and later let out or taken in.
- Selvage
- The tightly woven, finished edge running along both lengthwise sides of a bolt of fabric, which stops it fraying.
- Throughput
- How many garments an atelier completes in a given period; a measure of capacity.
- Toile
- A test version of a garment sewn in inexpensive fabric (often calico or muslin) to check fit and proportion before cutting the final cloth. Also called a muslin.
- Workshop
- A physical space or team within an atelier where a particular kind of work is done, such as cutting or embroidery.
The terms, in one workspace.
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