ready-to-wear

fashion

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July 16, 2026

Quick Summary

Ready-to-wear (RTW), also known as prêt-à-porter, refers to clothing that is mass-produced in standard sizes and sold in finished condition, as opposed to being custom-made for an individual. This contrasts with haute couture, which is high fashion created by designers for specific clients.12

The fashion industry, a global enterprise, encompasses the design, manufacturing, marketing, and sale of all types of apparel. Historically, clothing was handmade, but the advent of technologies like the sewing machine and the factory system led to mass production. Today, fashion is a globalized industry where clothes are often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold worldwide. The industry includes raw material production, garment manufacturing, retail sales, and promotion.3

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Pierre Cardin
…created one of the first ready-to-wear collections for women presented by a “name” designer and in 1960 introduced the first designer ready-to-wear collection for men. In the mid-1960s his stark, short tunics and his use of vinyl, helmets, and goggles helped launch the so-called Space Age look. Cardin later became…
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…created one of the first ready-to-wear collections for women presented by a “name” designer and in 1960 introduced the first designer ready-to-wear collection for men. In the mid-1960s his stark, short tunics and his use of vinyl, helmets, and goggles helped launch the so-called Space Age look. Cardin later became…
Read More

Hussein Chalayan
…era include his 2013 autumn-winter ready-to-wear collection, which featured day dresses that transformed into evening gowns with a single tug at the neck, and his 2016 spring-summer ready-to-wear show, wherein a shower on the catwalk dissolved models’ paper coats to reveal patterned dresses underneath. Chalayan also debuted “Gravity Fatigue” (2015),…
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…era include his 2013 autumn-winter ready-to-wear collection, which featured day dresses that transformed into evening gowns with a single tug at the neck, and his 2016 spring-summer ready-to-wear show, wherein a shower on the catwalk dissolved models’ paper coats to reveal patterned dresses underneath. Chalayan also debuted “Gravity Fatigue” (2015),…
Read More