Haute Couture

Esther is the senior head seamstress at a Dior workshop on Avenue Montaigne, where precision and reputation shape every stitch. She keeps a living memory of technique and teaches younger apprentices while guarding a tradition that feels like a treasure. One day in the Paris metro, a 20 year old named Jade steals Esther's handbag. Instead of calling the police, Esther offers Jade a different fate: she will teach her the craft that has sustained her career. The world of haute couture becomes the classroom, and a wary trust forms between teacher and student as they move through a demanding world that tests talent, patience and dignity.

Directed by Sylvie Ohayon, Haute Couture arrives in 2021 as a French drama with an original screenplay by Sylvie Verheyde. The film stars Nathalie Baye as Esther and Lyna Khoudri as Jade, supported by Pascale Arbillot, Soumaye Bocoum and Claude Perron.

Critics highlight the film's focus on mentorship and craft within the glittering yet demanding couture world. It probes aging, power dynamics, and the price of passing hard won skill from one generation to another, letting the relationship between Esther and Jade carry the emotional through line.