In recent years, couture houses have dramatically stepped up the level of service provided to clients, dispatching seamstresses and representatives around the world for fittings. Executives agreed the white-glove treatment will only improve.

"Last year, the couture team was the biggest travelers in the company," Chanel’s Pavlovsky said. "One day they are in Greece, the next day Los Angeles, and then Russia and then the Middle East. It's a one-to-one relationship."

"In more of a crisis situation, you need to be very close to your clients," agreed Lacroix's Topiol.

At Givenchy, seamstresses are often dispatched to the client's country on the day of the wedding "in case they need a small adjustment," Malverdi said.

What's more, the Givenchy couture department even helps brides recruit hair and makeup artists for the big day, and photo and video crews to document the entire process, from the show and fittings in Paris through to getting ready for the big day.

"Couture is becoming part of the wedding, and they want to live an experience," Malverdi said. "It's as important as having a great dinner, and a great location for the wedding. It's a full service we give them."

Veronique Gautier, president at Jean Paul Gaultier, said couture posted a single-digit increase last year and "the objective is to stay at the same level" in 2009. She asserted that Gaultier's distinct and irreverent take on couture has engendered a loyal clientele that helps shelter it from economic volatility.

Roughly 70 percent of Gaultier's clients are regulars from America, Europe, the Middle East, Russia and some from Asia, she said. "Couture is fantasy. You come to us if you see the world different," Gautier said.

Executives agreed it would be a mistake to reduce pricing or to tone down couture for more sober times.

Topiol allowed that even wealthy clients may buy less clothing, but they are apt to favor "heirloom-type items," for which couture fits the bill.

"Don't forget that Mr. Dior and the New Look came after the war. It was an optimistic collection," Toledano said. "The genius of Mr. Dior was to bring this elegant, confident, feminine silhouette.…The clients—and this is true for ready-to-wear as well—they want something really elegant and they want details. A lot of subtle things, but at high quality. We need the best workers, the best tailors and embroiderers. The industry should be challenged by that."

"We need maximum creativity," Chanel’s Pavlovsky agreed. "Karl Lagerfeld is an immense design talent…and we have to continue to invest in what makes us different: our know-how and creativity. This direction will continue."

While many observers have suggested conspicuous consumption will nosedive during this economic crisis, and that luxury is becoming a dirty word, Toledano had a different take: suggesting that couture is a beacon of human capacity that should be enshrined, not maligned. He noted the exhibition "Dior and Chinese Artists" that recently wound up a two-month run at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing attracted more than 60,000 paying visitors—evidence that couture dresses, which were displayed among artworks, continue to fascinate the public.

"Even if you can't buy haute couture, you see what men and women are capable of," Toledano said. "Things like haute couture, they're an example of human achievement."

Gautier noted the house of Gaultier continues to receive requests to stage couture shows in other countries, and hinted that a high-fashion collection may soon travel to Russia and one other country. "It's a little part of the business, but it's very big in terms of image and giving the sense of the (brand) story," she said. "Couture is still a pillar."