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Saturday, 3 October 2026Fashion, style and modelingLTEN
Runway and fashion weeks

Ready-to-wear

Also called: pret a porter

Ready-to-wear, or prêt-à-porter, is designer clothing made in standard sizes and sold in stores; these are the collections shown at the main fashion weeks.

How it works

The French name means "ready to wear". Unlike haute couture, these clothes are not made for a particular person: they are produced in runs, though in designer houses often to a very high standard and in limited numbers.

The main fashion weeks show ready-to-wear collections. Store buyers order from them, and magazines choose clothes for shoots.

For a model this is most of the runway work. Shows run by the dozen each day, and each needs a casting and a fitting.

In practice

During Paris ready-to-wear week one model walks three shows in a day. Each shows a collection that buyers will order for their stores after the show and that magazines will borrow for shoots. Six months later the same clothes hang in stores in standard sizes, and the model sometimes wears the same looks again for a lookbook or e-commerce shoot.

What to watch for

  • Prepare for many castings during fashion week.
  • Your measurements must match the sample size.
  • Note which houses you have walked for: it matters next season.

Related terms

Runway and fashion weeksHaute coutureHaute couture is handmade, made-to-measure high fashion; in France the name is protected and granted only to houses that meet strict requirements.Runway and fashion weeksFashion weekA fashion week is a period of several days in which fashion houses in one city present new collections in shows; the main ones are in New York, London, Milan and Paris.Runway and fashion weeksFashion seasonsFashion seasons are the collection cycle: spring/summer (SS) and autumn/winter (AW or FW) collections are shown about six months before they reach stores.Requirements and looksSample sizeSample size is the size in which designers make the first sample of a collection for shows, lookbooks and shoots; models have to fit it.Types of work and modelsRunway modelA runway model shows collections live at fashion shows, walking the catwalk in the designer's clothes before an audience, press and buyers.
Questions and answers

Frequently asked

01What does prêt-à-porter mean?

Literally "ready to wear": clothes in standard sizes, sold in stores.

02Is ready-to-wear cheap?

Not necessarily: designer ready-to-wear can be very expensive; it simply is not made to measure.

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