However, it continued to look to Paris for stylistic inspiration, and the British'father of haute couture'Charles Frederick Worth relocated to Paris in 1846 to perfect and then commercialise his craft, also holding the first fashion shows and launching the concept of fashion labels there.
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Although tailors and dressmakers were no doubt responsible for many innovations, and the textile industry certainly led many trends, the history of fashion design is normally understood to date from 1858 when the English-born Charles Frederick Worth opened the first true " haute couture " house in Paris.
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The museum began collecting garments soon after it opened in 1876, so the show includes gowns made for Philadelphians by 19th-century Parisian couturiers like Charles Frederick Worth, the Englishman who was the father of French couture, and his lesser-known rival, Emile Pingat, whom Ms . Blum finds " more artistic and subtle . " ( Pingat had two prices : one for Americans and a lower one for everyone else, said Claire Breslow, a museum guide .)
