Use of the word Couture in America

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Suat Eman/freedigitalphotos.net

Did you know there is actually an organization that regulates fashion?  They actually control fashion labelling, even though they're not like the fashion police.  The Chambre Syndicale de Haute Couture actually states that, according to Wikipedia (YES, I KNOW THEY ARE UNRELIABLE), a true couture house must have an atelier (workshop) with fifteen full-time workers in Paris, present two shows of 35 items a year, and custom-fit garments for customers. 

Such is the one and only collection of people with the legal right to label their clothes "haute couture."  There are a few non-French members of the Chambre, namely Armani and Valentino, among others.  Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Shaeffer said that Oscar de la Renta was the only American member, but Wikipedia did not list him among correspondence or guest.

However unreliable my sources, I have a strong sense of international justice and feel I must deter non-members of the   Chambre from using the couture label.

A few days ago (a few more since this post was previously deleted), I was watching shopping TV, which is always boring, but due to my new knowledge over laws and labelling, it was injustifiably interesting.  Here were these clearly uncertified people saying "it's couture!"  They laude the couture details and show off the impeccable couture design, haute styling!  It was an American designer.

I don't think this is so wrong because Americans are calling random pret-a-porter (ready-to-wear) "couture," I think it's wrong because they have no standards.  Just about anyone can call themselves a couture designer here -- it's like in The Jungle when plants would label these sausages premium and those sausages regular.  They were the same sausages.  Well, if you call it couture, I expect some couture sausages!*

Because fashion is so relentlessly unregulated in the US, anyone can call their product whatever they want.  I'm not too keen on the usage to mean pret-a-porter, but if that's all American designers will provide...

I guess if I had to start from scratch and forget, like these imposter designers and their customers already have, that couture is the description of an exceptionally high-quality, custom-made garment, I propose we have a set of different standards for America.  Let's please call it high fashion, though, instead of haute couture...

• Hold a show of at least 20 pret-a-porter garments on models who do not have perfect fit model proportions and for whom said clothes were not made
• Have at least one "special collection," which contains adaptable designs to be graded up or down for a customer's provided measurements, and
• Have at least one person who stands as the head and public fave of the design house.

Basically, I'm seeing American couture as something very close to Light-in-the-Box.com (for which I cannot vouch), but with a designer, a fashion show, and not custom-modelled clothes.

What do you think American high fashion should be?  Does it have a place in the U.S.A?