Emanual Ungaro and Donatello Versace will not be taking part in the Couture Week, which will be running from July 6 to 9. The situation around the upcoming event is getting disturbing as already 3 renowned fashion houses announced that they are bowing out of the fashion`s most exlusive event. The Givanchy fashion house has also announced last week that it would not present a couture catwalk show, as it had not yet nominated a chief designer to replace Julien Macdonald. It is rumored that Valentino will not be showing as well.

Yves Saint Laurent's long-time partner Pierre Berge has a simple explanation: "I've always said that the couture would die with Yves Saint Laurent.” – he told Women`s Wire Daily. "Now it's a domino effect. The couture has lost its raison d'etre. Couture isn't art. It's not meant to be hung in a closet like a painting. The women who wore couture no longer exist, the art de vivre that spawned couture has died. If houses such as Chanel and Dior one day get proof that they can sell as many bags and fragrances without a couture show, they'll stop couture, too."

However, Didier Grumbach, president of the Chambre Syndicale, the governing body of French fashion, disagrees with Berge`s pessimistic predictions, noting that there will be nearly 40 shows in the upcoming Fall/Winter season.

"Dior and Chanel are completely resolved to go on with couture. One reason is that no couture house that stopped doing couture has ever gained anything from it. Nobody thinks it was a good idea with hindsight. Because couture gives a house unique visibility. It can make a brand timeless," he told Fashion Wire Daily.

"It`s crazy to say it won`t last. Anyone who says haute couture is dead is totally wrong!" he said, citing the likes of Jean-Paul Gautier and Anne Valerie Hash as important names to have entered couture in recent years, also noting that several new designers are set to debut during the upcoming Couture Week, thanks to being sponsored by established houses.