Couture designs started in the 1800's when Rose Bertin was the dressmaker for Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, who was sometimes called the "Minister of Fashion". She opened a shop in Paris and was influenced on Parisian style, until this was drastically changed by the French Revolution. Marie Antoinette relied on Rose Bertin's designs to help her "to combat her enemies with style". However, she wasn't seen as the first fashion designer in the modern development, it was an English man named Charles Worth, who was living in Paris at the same time. He had a large business employing many anonymous tailors and seamstresses and as a former draper, his success made him dictate what they should wear for his customers. Ornately decorated and constructed from the finest materials, his gowns are well known for their cage-like metal structures, which held the dress out in a stylish shape. 

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Through the 20th century, all high fashion originated in Paris and rather than London. Fashion magazines from other countries sent editors to the Paris fashion shows where they purchased designs to copy and openly steal the style lines. At the start of the 20th century, fashion magazines began to include photographs and became even more inspiring as talented illustrators drew attractive fashion plates for the publications.