Induction Brief - more Essay

I have been quietly thinking about my essay whilst continuing my Induction Brief unit and I have come up with some ideas, originally I wanted to do something about 'The Rituals of Dressing Up' but am struggling to find the sort of material I want. I have continued to think and see what areas will reflect my work and as I would like to create a couture collection, and there is some debate as to whether couture is a dying area of the fashion sphere, I think I would like to look into whether Couture is dead????

• I will look into the definition of couture.
• The skills require, in order to be able to produce couture work - you've gotta start somewhere!!
• The difference between Haute Couture and plain Couture
• How did the couture business start
• Who started it
• Why was the phrase 'Haute Couture' coined
• What maintains the business Haute and couture
• What has happened to the discipline during economical downturn - austerity?

I will start by looking in the following bibliography:
Couture sewing techniques / Claire B. Shaeffer
Shaeffer, Claire B
Newtown, CT : Taunton Press, c2011
250 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm.
The dressmaker's handbook of couture sewing techniques : essential step-by-step techniques for profe
Maynard, Lynda
London : A. & C. Black, 2010
160 p. ill, spiral bound
Couture in the 21st century / by Deborah Bee ; portraits by Rankin
Bee, Deborah
London : Harrods ; London : A&C Black, 2010
160 p. : ill.
Secret world of haute couture [DVD] / BBC
London : BBC, 2008
1 DVD (60 mins)
The Zapp method of couture sewing / Anna Zapp
Zapp, Anna
Iola, Wis. : Krause ; Newton Abbot : David & Charles, c2004
128 p. : col. ill. ; 28cm.
Couture culture [electronic resource] : a study in modern art and fashion / Nancy J. Troy.
Troy, Nancy J.
Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c2003.
xii, 438 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Couture sewing techniques / Claire B. Shaeffer
Shaeffer, Claire B.
Newtown, Conn. ; [Great Britain] : Taunton, 1993 (2001 [printing])
217 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm.
L'officiel de la couture et de la mode Paris
Paris : Editions Jalou Sa
Irregular
Collezioni haute couture
Modena : Logos
2 issues per year
Couture Culture: A Study in Modern Art and Fashion [electronic resource].
MIT Press
Balenciaga and his legacy : haute couture from the Texas Fashion Collection / Myra Walker
Walker, Myra, 1954-
Dallas : In association with the Meadows Museum, c2006
xvii, 162 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 32 cm.
How fashion works : couture, ready-to-wear, and mass production / Gavin Waddell
Waddell, Gavin
Oxford, UK ; Ames, Iowa : Blackwell Science, 2004
xii, 211 p. : il
Also I will use the Internet websites, such as Vogue.com and trendsetter.com and the news paper websites. Hopefully this will provide me with a way forward for my essay and hopefully I will then be able to plan my essay, paragraph by paragraph, what to include and what to not include. Also I hope it will give me a more focused title and concept.