To answer this question, we need to examine the goals of one man: Louis XIV. Early in his personal rule (1661-1715), Louis embarked on a mission to make French culture the predominant culture in Europe, intent on overtaking the cultural monopoly Italy had held over the continent since the Renaissance. With the help of Jean-Baptiste Colbert and architects and artists such as Louis le Vau and Charles le Brun, Louis oversaw the creation of new the new (French) style of Baroque, highlighted most prevalently in the palace of Versailles. The rest of Europe clamoured to emulate the cultural sophistication of the French court, as Louis had hoped. This included adopting an increasing amount French fashions. The fashions of the French court were set and produced in Paris, and therefore the fashions of the continent were set in Paris. Understanding the importance of the export of luxury commodities to the French economy, Louis brought several industries, including the textile industry, under direct control of the royal court, ensuring production of cloth, furnishings etc were strictly regulated and of the highest quality. Colbert himself stated that ‘Fashions were to France what the mines of Peru were to Spain’. For centuries to come, therefore, France was to be cemented as not only as the producer of the most desirable fashions but also the highest quality materials.