frfashion1-10, Exercise 1: Applying the six questions

Model answer (check the details), using "Haute couture is a dying art":

1. Who says it? Journalists, some designers, and critics of the industry; defenders of couture say the opposite.
2. What exactly is claimed? That couture is on the way to disappearing. "Dying" could mean fewer houses, fewer clients, fewer workers, or less influence.
3. What would count as evidence? The number of official couture houses over time, the number of clients, the number of ateliers' staff, the share of sales, and the survival of the craft firms.
4. Compared with what? The 1950s, when there were over a hundred houses, and other luxury crafts.
5. Which period? From the 1950s to now: the decline was sharp until the 1970s, and since then numbers have been low but fairly stable (check).
6. What would change my mind? Evidence that the number of clients and workers is growing, or that couture is closing for good.

Verdict: "dying" is too strong. Couture has shrunk to a small, subsidised showcase, but it is supported by the luxury groups for prestige and the craft firms are being preserved (Chapters 7 and 9). A careful sentence: "Couture has declined to a few houses and survives as a prestige business within larger groups."

Care: give the period and the measure.