There was nothing modern about the idea of men making women’s clothes ― we saw them doing it for centuries in the past. In the old days, however, the client was always primary and her tailor was an obscure craftsman, perhaps talented but perhaps not. She had her own ideas like any patron, there were no fashion plates, and the tailor was simply at her service, perhaps with helpful suggestions about what others were wearing. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, with the hugely successful rise of the artistic male couturier, it was the designer who became celebrated, and the client elevated by his inspired attention. In a climate of admiration for male artists and their female creations, the dress-designer first flourished as the same sort of creator. Instead of the old rule that dressmaking is a craft, ______________________________________________ was invented that had not been there before.
* obscure: 무명의 ** patron: 후원자 *** couturier: 고급 여성복 디자이너