Introduction In this essay, I will discuss how the Paris, France, came to be the first fashion capital of the world. It will also look at and discuss if Paris is still considered the most important fashion city today. I will also explore how other fashion cities, such as New York, Milan and London, compared to Paris by looking at their differences and similarities such as read-to-wear lines and how each city had a certain time period where they were established as fashion cities. Firstly the discussion will be around how Paris became so involved in Fashion and why people were so drawn to the Parisian style. Leading on from that I will look into New York, London and Milan and how each of these major fashion cities played a part in affecting Paris. To conclude, I will investigate whether Paris still remains as the most important fashion city today. Main Body Parisian fashion dates back to the 1800's, during the Victorian era, when people would have clothing hand made for them to show their wealth. Women who had clothes made for them, were the women who were high in social class, had money to spend and were up to date with the latest fashion trends. In those days it was easier to identify an individual's class because clothes were handed down when they went out of fashion. Norma Rantisi, writer of "How New York Stole Modern Fashion , discusses Haute Couture and the first haute couturier, she wrote "The use of the 'Haute Couture' label by fashion houses was regulated by commission, the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, which advocated on behalf of couture houses with respect to intellectual property rights, labour issues, foreign relations, advertising and the coordination of the fashion shows. Although the first couture house in Paris was formally introduced by Charles Worth in the mid-1800s, the significance of fashion as a marker of distinction was popularized by the French court at Versailles as early as the eighteenth century (Rantisi, 2006:115). What Rantisi is trying to communicate is that fashion had been around a lot longer before than 19th century, but fashions were different before this time. Women of high class had to follow strict lifestyles, and had to dress to show their husband's wealth. Haute Couture was only starting to be recognized when Charles Frederick Worth, an English fashion designer, came to Paris and changed the way fashion was consumed. Before women would tell tailors what they wanted and how it was to be made. Worth created for clientele but he designed and made clothes that he thought was best suited for that person. He would not let his clients have a say in what they can and cannot wear. This is where Paris and fashion evolved and everyone wanted a little piece of Parisian style. Paris continued to create high end fashion till the end of the Victorian period, through the belle Ãpoque, the 1920's and the 1930's. The Americans would travel to Paris to purchase Haute Couture clothing and pay full price, whereas Parisian People of high social status, models and actresses would expect favors and free offers. Valerie Steele, author, stated in her book- Paris Fashion, A cultural history, "The 1960's "Youth Quake" may have launched an irreversible shift away from Paris fashion leadership. Think Mary Quant and the miniskirt. Not only did London temporarily supplant Paris as the center of fashion, but it fostered a movement away from the couture and towards ready-to-wear, which placed the American fashion Industry in a vastly strengthened position. In the 1970's Milan challenged Paris.  (Steele, 1998:7). Steele is expressing is that other cities were given the chance to work their way into the fashion world. This was due to out of hand circumstances that Paris couturiers could not control. The World Wars were the start of Paris's decline in existing as the fashion capital. After the second world war,