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It all kicked off in the 17th century when the association of France with fashion and style was initiated by, surprise surprise, Louis XIV's court. The Sun King made it his business to be at the center of all that was beautiful in the world so the luxury goods industry in France became a royal commodity. The creation of the fashion press in the 1670s catapulted French fashion into the spotlight and the notions of different fashion "seasons" and the changing of styles became available to a bigger audience. Louis XIV himself was responsible for starting the trend for outrageous wigs of curled hair. The king was going bald so he over-compensated and the rest of the court followed suit.
Instead of courtiers, France now had the bourgeoisie and, as the driving force that made the economy move from hand to hand (as in, they could actually move money around), French fashion found its way into society. It wasn't long until the couturier (designer) was born. It is, of course, as usually with designers, a controversial statement, but a man from England called Charles Frederick Worth is more or less accepted into the popular vernacular as the man who totally dominated the industry. He was the first to be considered a designer and not just a dressmaker - he invented the fashion show and the fashion label as a status symbol. He went on to become so successful and respected, in fact, that he earned the final say on whatever their customers were going to wear, regardless of their opinion. He also came up with the idea of actually sketching the design before producing an expensive sample garment. He was hailed as a genius for that. Ah, the world of fashion. "A History of Fashion in Paris" (What Paris)
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