FASHION OVERVIEW

DESIGNER’S DESCRIPTION

(CHRISTIAN LACROIX)

BY:JANVI JAINROLL NO:140502012

BIOGRAPHYLacroix was born in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône in southern France. At a young age he began sketching historical costumes and fashions. Lacroix graduated from high school in 1969 and moved to Montpellier, to study Art History at the University of Montpellier.

Career: Freelance fashion sketcher, 1976-78; assistant at Hermés, Paris, 1978-80; assistant to Guy Paulin, 1980; designer/artistic director, Jean Patou, 1981-87; opened own couture and ready-to-wear house, 1987; established Christian Lacroix haute couture and salons in Paris, 1987; developed cruise collection, 1988; designed ready-to-wear collection for Genny SpA, 1988, followed by menswear collection and boutique; introduced seven accessory lines, from 1989; line of ties and hosiery, 1992; launched C'est la Vie! perfume, 1990; designed costumes for American Ballet Theater's Gaieté Parisienne, New York, 1988; "Bazar" collection, 1994; launched Jeans Lacroix, 1994; introduced Christian Lacroix collection of fine china, 1997; created jewelry line, 2000; debuted "Enfants de Christian Lacroix," children's line, 2001.

• Christian Lacroix, 20 Years of Haute

Couture on the Catwalk.

• A Christian Lacroix gown on display

in the "CONTRO-MODA" exhibition

in Florence, Italy, at Palazzo

Strozzi in 2007.

• In 1987, he opened his own haute

couture house. He began putting

out ready-to-wear in 1988 drawing

inspiration from diverse cultures.

• Critics commented that he did not

seem to understand the type of

clothing the working woman

needed.

• In 1989, Lacroix launched jewelry,

handbags, shoes, glasses, scarves,

and ties (along with ready-to-wear).

In this same year, he opened

boutiques within Paris, Arles, Aix-

en-Provence, Toulouse, London,

Geneva, and Japan.

• Christian Lacroix, bubble skirt, 1988

• With his background in historical costume and clothing, Lacroix soon made headlines with his opulent, fantasy creations, including the short puffball skirt ("le pouf"), rose prints, and low décolleté necklines. He referenced widely from other styles—from fashion history (the corset and the crinoline), from folklore, and from many parts of the world—and he mixed his references in a topsy-turvy manner. He favored the hot colors of the Mediterranean region, a hodgepodge of patterns, and experimental fabrics, sometimes handwoven in local workshops.

Le pouf

“I always love to do scrapbooks and collages,” he explains. “I was alone in a hotel in Florence, cutting up some old fashion engravings from the 1880s with bustles, and I was playing around and I had the idea to cut the skirt like a mini-skirt and to put some modern legs underneath.” Would he be happy to be remembered for inventing the pouf? “Why not?” he laughs. “When I’m on the phone I’ll sketch silhouettes, and very often it’s still a pouf that I draw.

While it is for sure that Lacroix has been affected by reduced spending amid the economic crisis,the roots of its troubles lay much deeper. According to Patricia Pao, executive of Pao Principle, a retail New York-based consultant group, “Lacroix, while beautiful, has long struggled to find an audience.” she said. The major problem of Lacroix has always been that he could never really come to realization how to make his gourgeous pieces work for the modern working woman. The problem was, and still remains, that the designer kept creating clothes in a style of a Spanish matador, for example, with gypsy fringing, splashes of 18th century corsets and neon psychedelic (more often all in the same piece), which were never practical for wardrobes of working women. And what is even more, the items were not cheap, either.

From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, Lacroix worked with color schemes and design execution for fashion houses Hermès, Guy Paulin, and Jean Patou.

In summer 2009, Lacroix’s company owner, Florida-based Falic Group, has been involved in serious discussions with a group of investors from Switzerland since late last year. In a letter to his 125 staff, Lacroix wrote that he will give “200 percent” to keep the 22-year-old couture house in one piece, to “preserve the know-how, without which the lungs and the heart of the house couldn’t exist.” Lacroix is renowned for lavish and colourful couture shows, and is one of the main drawcards at Paris couture week each season. The reality is that couture customers are few…. Don’t you wish the world is still like those movies back in the 50s and 60s everyone went through the whole 9 yards to dressed up and looking fabulous, well, as much as we like them to be, it’s still a fantasy and I really hate to see my hero, mentor, who inspired me to be a fashion designer. and here is the story why I was deeply sadden to see Huose of Lacroixfiling bankrupt.

highlightsHis collections during 1994 were based on old culture and folklore, as well as fables and the past. In 1995, he launched a towel line which contained a fashion and lifestyle side, which represent how the two intertwine ("two sides of the same coin").In 1996, he launched a jeans line. He included past traditions from all around the world, continuing the line with even more on ethnic arts.In 1997, the Art de la Table line was launched by him in partnership with Christofle. A licensing agreement was also reached in this year with Pronuptian in which he could launch his Christian Lacroix Marriage line.In 1999, he launched his first line of floral perfume, and in 2000 he finished a line of novelty accessories which included semi-precious jewelry.In 2001, Lacroix also launched a children's line and in 2002, he launched a perfume, Bazar, created by Bertrand Duchaufour, Jean-Claude Ellena and Emilie Copperman.In 2004, Lacroix launched a lingerie for women line, as well as a menswear line.Christian Lacroix has designed many dresses for Hollywood stars; among them, he is responsible for designing Christina Aguilera's wedding dress and in the 1990s was famed as being a favourite designer of Edina Monsoon in the UK sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (for which the house drew dubious credit).He has also been the designer of the new uniform of Air France staff and crew in 2004 and pyjamas signed by him are handed out to passengers travelling on Air France First Class (L'Espace Premier).Today, Lacroix has 60 points of sale within France (department stores included). Around the world, Lacroix has 1,000 total points of sale.

Many celebrities have been seen in his creations including Helen Mirren and Uma Thurman

Lady Gaga made a traffic stopping entrance to the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City for her appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman yesterday.

She arrived wearing a Christian Lacroix Fall 2011 Couture jumpsuit with hand painted arabesques details and a crystal embroidered veil.

Jennifer Aniston wore a pink Christian Lacroix dress for the event with black strappy sandals and drop earrings.

When she married Jordan Bratman in 2005, Christian Aguilera wore a stunning Spanish styled gown designed by Christian Lacroix. The gown had a ruffled train that just kept going and although the bodice of the dress was very simple, the train more than made up for it. Along with her Lacroix original, Christina also wore jewels and white flowers in her hair which really brought the ensemble together.

Christina Aguilera

the Christian Lacroix Spring 2009 Haute Couture show.The collection, as expected, was very colourful and beautiful, mixing ultra feminine and romantic looks, with a touch chic of masculine tailoring.

The colours were vibrant, tropical for some pieces, and there were also prints, stripes and heavy embellishments.

They said he would never come back, but Monsieur Lacroix, formerly known as Christian Lacroix, has collaborated with Spanish design house Desigual to help them create their Fall 2011 line. Here is a preview from a presentation earlier this week at Barcelona Fashion Week.

AWARDS

• Golden Thimble Award, 1986

• Most Influential Foreign Designer Award

• Council of Fashion Designers of America, 1987

• Golden Thimble Award, 1988

• Moliere Award, best costumes, 1996, for Phedre.

collectionAUTUMN/WINTER 2009-10

AT what could be his last haute couture show, the king of couture, Christian Lacroix gave us an aptly toned-down – though none the less beautiful collection.

Gone were the masses of extravagant colour and confectionary styling, making way, instead, for a controlled palette of black and midnight and indigo blues in the shape of gorgeous wearable capes - densely embroidered at their hem and fastened with huge jewel buttons - and dropped-waist coats trimmed at the collar with fur and

emblazoned with intricate gold panels.

Despite the financial difficulties the fashion house has experienced over the last month, glamour and elegance was still very much on the Lacroix agenda. Cocktail

dresses sparkled in silver and gold beads while overlays of sequin-tangled net broke out over mini skirts and as peplums on beautifully crafted jackets.

To finish, the designer delivered the most beautiful bridal gown in gold and white. Strewn with charms and corsages, the model was a saintly depiction of Lacroix's

extraordinary talents.

Sombre: The mood of the collection was funereal, with much black on showNearly everyone at the show - a tour de force made possible in large part by the largesse of Lacroix's longtime collaborators - wanted to believe him.Money was so tight that Lacroix's friends and supporters had to pitch in to make the show happen. A prestigious embroidery house worked for free, painstakingly applying rhinestones and tone-on-tone embroidery the label is known for; a high-end shoe brand donated the models' towering heels, and the makeup artists and hairdressers worked pro-bono. Only the show's 12 models were paid.

USP

• Lacroix grew to become internationally renowned for his elegance, opulence, and attention to design – all which can be seen to stem from the designer’s rich appreciation of traditional forms of fashion. The Council of Fashion Designers named Lacroix the most influential foreign designer in 1987, only the first year of his couture.

• The designer from Arles has also been noted for his ability to draw from a variety of cultures in his couture designs. His 1994 Bazar line constituted an entire collection based on a culture, folklore, and tradition.

• Glamorous, expensive-looking, and unapologetically dramatic clothes

Segment : Women with a taste for panache and designer label belonging to premium classTarget group : Women from the urban upper classPositioning : Couture clothing line with French detailing

Strength 1. Niche premium segment clothing catering to people who have lived fashion2. The brand epitomizes the eighties through the designer's use of sumptuous fabrics (velvet, satin, taffeta) and overlapping patterns (patchwork, stripes).3.Brand has establish itself with associations with leading global celebrities4. The brand has diversified into product lines like Fragrances, Home, Handbags, and Shoes5. Around the world, Lacroix has 1,000 total points of sale.

Weakness1. Sometimes perceived as an extremely expensive product2. Competition from existing brands means more brand switching3. The brand has not been able to generate profits

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