Making a Loss is the Height of Fashion Reading Answers

Jan 8, 2025

Making a Loss is the Height of Fashion Reading Answers is a generic IELTS Reading Answers topic for the IELTS Exam. Making a Loss is the Height of Fashion Reading Answers, consisting of 13 IELTS questions. From Questions No. 27-31, you have to pick the correct option from the given passages. After that, from Questions No. 32-36, you have to give the answers in TRUE/ FALSE/ NOT GIVEN form, and from Questions No. 37-40, you have to complete each sentence with its correct ending from the given ending options.

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Section 1

Making a Loss is the Height of Fashion

In this topsy-turvy world, selling a dress at an enormous discount turns out to be very good business indeed, says William Langley.

Given that a good year in the haute couture business is one where you lose even more money than usual, the prevailing mood in Paris last week was of buoyancy. The big-name designers were falling over themselves to boast of how many outfits they had sold at the below cost price and how this proved that the fashion business was healthier than ever. Jean-Paul Gaultier reported record sales, “but we don't make any money out of it,” the designer assured journalists backstage. “No matter how successful you are, you can't make a profit from couture, explained Jean-Jacques Picart, a veteran fashion PR man, and co-founder of the now-bankrupt Lacroix house.

Almost 20 years have passed since the bizarre economics of the couture business were first exposed. Outraged that he was losing money on evening dresses costing tens of thousands of pounds, the couturier Jean-Louis Scherrer to howls of “treason” from his colleagues -published a detailed summary of his costs. One outfit he described contained over half a mile of gold thread, and 18,000 sequins, and had required hundreds of hours of hand-stitching in an atelier. A fair price would have been £50,000, but the couturier could only get £35,000 for it. Rather than riding high on the follies of the super-rich, he and his team could barely feed their hungry families.

The result was an outcry and the first of a series of government- and industry-sponsored inquiries into the surreal world of ultimate fashion. The trade continues to insist that relatively speaking, couture offers you more than you pay for, but it's not as simple as that. When such a temple of old wealth starts talking about value for money, it isn't to convince anyone that dresses costing as much as houses are a bargain. Rather, it is to preserve the peculiar mystique, lucrative associations, and threatened interests that couture represents.

Essentially, the arguments couldn't be simpler. On one side are those who say that the business will die if it doesn't change. On the other are those who say it will die if it does. What's not in doubt is that haute couture the term translates as “high sewing” is a spectacular anachronism. Colossal in its costs, tiny in its clientele, and questionable in its influence, it remains one of the great themes of Parisian life. In his book, The Fashion Conspiracy, Nicholas Coleridge estimates that the entire couture industry rests on the whims of less than 30 immensely wealthy women, and although the number may have grown in recent years with the new prosperity of Asia, the number of couture customers worldwide is no more than 4,000. To qualify as couture, a garment must be entirely handmade by one of the 11 Paris couture houses registered to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Each house must employ at least 20 people, and show a minimum of 75 new designs a year. So far, so traditional, but the Big Four operators — Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, and Gaultier — increasingly use couture as a marketing device for their far more profitable ready-to-wear, fragrance, and accessory lines.

It isn't hard to see how this works in practice. “Haute couture is what gives our business its essential essence of luxury,” says Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH, which owns both Dior and Givenchy. “The cash it soaks up is largely irrelevant. Set against the money we lose has to be the value of the image couture gives us. Look at the attention the collections attract. It is where you get noticed. You have to be there. It's where we set our ideas in motion.” The big idea is the one known in the trade as 'name association”. Couture outfits may be unaffordable, even unwearable, but the whiff of glamour and exclusivity is hard to resist. The time-starved modern woman who doesn't make enough in a year to afford a single piece of couture can still buy a share of the dream for the price of a Chanel lipstick or a Givenchy scarf.

For all this, couture has been in decline, the optimists would say readjusting to changed conditions for years. The number of houses registered to the Syndicale has halved in the last two decades. Pierre Cardin once had almost 500 people working full-time on couture. But by the 1980s the number had fallen to 50, and today the house is no longer registered.

Modern life tells the story. Younger women, even the seriously wealthy ones, find ready-to-wear clothes invariably more practical and usually more fun. Couture's market has dwindled. “Haute couture is a joke, scoffs Pierre Berge, the former head of Yves St. Laurent -another house that no longer creates it. "Anyone who tells you it still matters is fantasizing. You can see it dropping dead all around you. Nobody buys it anymore. The prices are ridiculous. The rules for making it are nonsensical. It belongs to another age. Where are today's couturiers? A real couturier is someone who finds and runs their own house. No one does that anymore."

Why, then, are the surviving couture houses smiling? Because they trade in fantasy, and, in these times, more people want to fantasize. “We've received so many orders we may not be able to deliver them all, says Sidney Toledano, head of Dior. So, the clothes are rolled out, and the couture losses roll in, and everyone agrees that it's good business.

Section 2

Solutions and Explanations

Questions 27-31

Choose the correct letter from the given options.

27. What is the main topic of the first paragraph?

A. the difference between haute couture and other areas of the fashion industry

B. contrasting views on haute couture

C. the losses made on haute couture

D. the negative attitude towards haute couture of people in the fashion industry

Answer: C (The Losses Made on Haute Couture)

Supporting statement: “..........Jean-Paul Gaultier reported record sales, “but we don't make any money out of it,” the designer assured journalists backstage………..”

Keywords: Haute Couture, Money, Designer

Keyword Location: para 2, Line 5-6

Explanation: The first paragraph concentrates on how haute couture continues to run losses despite record sales, emphasizing the industry's strange economics.

28. The writer says that Jean-Louis Scherrer

A. upset other couturiers.

B. was in a worse financial position than other couturiers.

C. was one of the best-known couturiers.

D. Stopped producing haute couture dresses.

Answer: A (Upset other Couturiers)

Supporting statement: “..........Outraged that he was losing money on evening dresses costing tens of thousands of pounds, the couturier Jean-Louis Scherrer to howls of “treason” from his colleagues -published a detailed summary of his costs.………..”

Keywords: Outraged, Dresses, Treason, Detailed

Keyword Location: para 3, Line 2-4

Explanation: Jean-Louis Scherrer upset other fashion designers by publicly revealing the financial losses involved in haute couture, leading to widespread criticism from his peers.

29. The writer says that the outfit Jean-Louis Scherrer described

A. was worth the price that was paid for it.

B. cost more to make than it should have.

C. was never sold to anyone.

D. should have cost more to buy than it did.

Answer: D (Should have cost more to buy than it did)

Supporting statement: “..........A fair price would have been £50,000, but the couturier could only get £35,000 for it. .………..”

Keywords: Fair Price, Couturier, Outfit

Keyword Location: para 3, Line 7-8

Explanation: The outfit cost £50,000 to make but was sold for only £35,000, indicating it should have been priced higher to reflect its production cost.

30. In the third paragraph, the writer states that haute couture makers

A. think that the term 'value for money has a particular meaning for them.

B. prefer to keep quiet about the financial aspects of the business.

C. have changed because of inquiries into how they operate.

D. want to expand their activities to attract new customers

Answer: A (think that the term 'value for money has a particular meaning for them.)

Supporting statement: “.........When such a temple of old wealth starts talking about value for money, it isn't to convince anyone that dresses costing as much as houses are a bargain…………..”

Keywords: Value, Money, Dresses, Bargain

Keyword Location: para 4, Line 4-7

Explanation: The passage points out that haute couture manufacturers emphasize that their products offer more than you pay for, but clarifies that the term "value for money" is about preserving mystique rather than affordability.

31. The writer says in the fourth paragraph that there is disagreement over

A. the popularity of haute couture.

B. the future of haute couture.

C. the real costs of haute couture

D. the changes that need to be made in haute couture.

Answer: B (the future of haute couture)

Supporting statement: “.........On one side are those who say that the business will die if it doesn't change. On the other are those who say it will die if it does.…………..”

Keywords: Future, Business, Haute Couture

Keyword Location: para 5, Line 1-3

Explanation: The paragraph states, "On one side are those who say that the business will die if it doesn't change. On the other are those who say it will die if it does." This indicates disagreement about the future of haute couture.

Questions 32-36

Do the following statements agree with the writer's views in the reading passage? Write

YES-if the statement agrees with the views of the writer

NO—if the statement contradicts the views of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks

32. The way that companies use haute couture as a marketing device is clear.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: “..........Haute couture is what gives our business its essential essence of luxury,” says Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH, which owns both Dior and Givenchy………..”

Keywords: Haute Couture, Luxury, Business

Keyword Location: para 6, Line 1-3

Explanation: The passage highlights how couture serves as a branding tool to create an image of luxury and exclusivity, which increases sales of more profitable ready-to-wear and accessory lines.

33. Only wealthy people are attracted by the idea of 'name association".

Answer: NO

Supporting statement: “..........The time-starved modern woman who doesn't make enough in a year to afford a single piece of couture can still buy a share of the dream for the price of a Chanel lipstick or a Givenchy scarf.………..”

Keywords: couture, share, price, Givenchy

Keyword Location: para 6, Line 9-11

Explanation: The passage points out that even those who cannot afford couture are attracted by "name association" by purchasing more affordable luxury items such as Chanel lipstick or Givenchy scarves. This suggests that non-wealthy individuals also desire to participate in the luxury brand image.

34. Pierre Cardin is likely to return to producing haute couture.

Answer: NO

Supporting statement: “.........Pierre Cardin once had almost 500 people working full-time on couture. But by the 1980s the number had fallen to 50, and today the house is no longer registered……..”

Keywords: Pierre Cardin, couture, registered

Keyword Location: para 7, Line 3-5

Explanation: The passage indicates that Pierre Cardin no longer produces haute couture and suggests no intention or possibility of returning to it. This is supported by the decline of the haute couture houses and Cardin's decision to stop registering with the Syndicale.

35. Some women who can afford haute couture clothes buy other clothes instead.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: “........Younger women, even the seriously wealthy ones, find ready-to-wear clothes invariably more practical and usually more fun.……..”

Keywords: Women, Wealthy, Clothes, Practical

Keyword Location: para 8, Line 1-3

Explanation: The passage proposes that young wealthy women prefer ready-to-wear clothes for practicality and pleasure, even if they can afford haute couture. This indicates that they buy other clothes instead.

36. It is hard to understand why some haute couture companies are doing well.

Answer: NO

Supporting statement: “........Haute couture is what gives our business its essential essence of luxury,” says Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH, which owns both Dior and Givenchy. “The cash it soaks up is largely irrelevant. Set against the money we lose has to be the value of the image couture gives us..……..”

Keywords: Business, Luxury, Irrelevant, Money

Keyword Location: para 8, Line 1-5

Explanation: The passage explains why haute couture companies are performing well despite losses, emphasizing that they trade in fantasy and use couture as a marketing strategy to build brand reputation.

Questions 37-40

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F.

A. There is great demand for haute couture.

B. people who defend haute couture are wrong.

C. the cost of haute couture is likely to come down.

D. haute couture is dependent on a very small number of customers.

E. more companies will start producing haute couture

F. it is important to continue with haute couture

37. In his book, Nicholas Coleridge claims that

Answer: D (haute couture is dependent on a very small number of customers)

Supporting statement: “........In his book, The Fashion Conspiracy, Nicholas Coleridge estimates that the entire couture industry rests on the whims of less than 30 immensely wealthy women, and although the number may have grown in recent years with the new prosperity of Asia..……..”

Keywords: couture, wealthy, prosperity, Fashion

Keyword Location: para 5, Line 5-9

Explanation: Nicholas Coleridge claims that the existence of haute couture depends on the whims of fewer than 30 wealthy women and a maximum of 4,000 customers globally.

38. The head of LVMH believes that

Answer: F (it is important to continue with haute couture)

Keywords: Essential, Essence, Head, Business

Keyword Location: para 6, Line 1-4

Explanation: The head of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, emphasizes that haute couture is essential to maintaining the luxury image of the business regardless of financial losses.

39. The former head of Yves St. Laurent feels that

Answer: B (people who defend haute couture are wrong)

Supporting statement: “......“Haute couture is a joke, scoffs Pierre Berge, the former head of Yves St. Laurent -another house that no longer creates it..…..”

Keywords: Haute Couture, Head, Defend

Keyword Location: para 8, Line 3-4

Explanation: Pierre Berge criticized haute couture as outdated, irrelevant, and unstable, and rejected claims of its continued importance.

40. The head of Dior states that

Answer: A (There is great demand for haute couture.)

Supporting statement: “......We've received so many orders we may not be able to deliver them all, says Sidney Toledano, head of Dior……..”

Keywords: Head, Received, Deliver, Orders

Keyword Location: para 9, Line 2-5

Explanation: "We've received so many orders that we may not be able to deliver them all," says Dior chief Sidney Toledano, indicating high demand for haute couture.

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