Exit the King.

It seems as if this year is destined to be the year that we say goodbye to the greats of creativity. Although Christian Lacroix hasn't died, his eponymous label, synonymous with extravagance and parisienne opulence, has fallen under due to the hard times of the recession and the cold harsh reality of consumer driven luxury sales turning to brand names rather than quality. 

The talk that his most recent couture show, an intimate and sombre affair funded entirely by private donors due to the sheer lack of funds, would be his last is a saddening thought personally and for the whole of the industry. It is casting my mind back way into the archives of this blog but i have posted about lacroix before to say that Spring/Summer 06 Haute Couture show was a defining fashion moment for me. That frippery, that elegance, that gauche extravagance, it enchanted and inspired me to dream about a world where women wore such incredible creations every day. Where high fashion was absolutely normal. I still have that tattered cut out of  a doll faced Lily Cole in a frou frou white ballgown, beautifully finished and wonderfully executed, black feather embellishments underneath the hem that revealed themselves as she walked. Amazing in movement. Real, heart-stoppingly incroyable fashion. 

 

Which is why i am so saddened to think that he will no longer be providing the fashion industry and wider public with an unashamed gluttonous feast for the eyes through clothes. The no holds barred approach that he took to design, the delicate embellishments of beading, sequins, pailettes and ribbons, the bright and bold colours, the mish mash of textures, materials and silhouettes, the over the top styling, the  theatrical nature of the garments... If you spoke to an average person on the street and asked them about couture they would probably describe to you a lacroix look. His designs are synonymous with extravagance, and thus, couture. 

This show was definitely a step away from this. His usual exuberant and sunny opulence was tempered with a bit of sobriety, a recognition of the difficult position his company is in and the harsh reality of the uphill trek that the whole fashion industry, especially haute couture and luxury, must face before they are completely out of the woods. In our society of penny pinching and temperance there is not time any more for the trapholds of luxury and what is deemed unnecessary indulgences. The whole of the industry is feeling the pinch, and it has become a real struggle for designers to still create that transformative, magical, fantasy element of couture without the frou and frippery of yesterday. At Dior we saw a stripping back of Galliano's stage presence and theatricals, both in terms of set (no smoke, mirrors, flashy lights and loud music, instead a chic setting in the showrooms of the avenue montaigne flagship) and design (the looks often paired a bold suit jacket in traditional dior shapes with modern embellishments paired with nude 50s undergarments, ie, no pants). 

What resulted from Lacroix however was an incredibly tasteful and yet somberly glamorous collection that will forever stand as a farewell, if not from couture and design altogether (he has been resurrected from the fashion dead before) then at least from his previous aesthetic. It was Lacroix, but it was toned down. The bright colours were gone, this palette was black and white with hints of pastels and neutrals, a nod to the dark mood in fashion at the moment. The dark colours also made the embellishments and embroidery, still there, this is Lacroix after all, harder to see. There was a host of inspirations from Valentino to Balenciaga to Chanel, but hey, a designer is only as good as his influences. What i was really excited to see was Lacroix take all the trends at the moment and put his own stamp on them, a stamp that is instantly recognisable. Yards of lace, fistfuls of beads, bold shapes, beautifully executed drapery, headgear that Stephen Jones would die for and a general air of French opulence that is so characteristic of the parisiennes. 

And despite all the dark colour and sometimes simple outfits and pared back design that couture fashion magic was still there, and in the oddest, most simple ways. A plain black floor length dress with a cloud of netting and feathers at the neckline of the bodice conjured up images of a 1940s nightclub singer beauty. The scalloped hem coat dress managed to develop a trend that many thought designed for the hipsters only for a wider market. 

Most stunning, and destined to become another great fashion moment for me, was the finale dress of a russian inspired (think the chanel paris moscow pre fall collection) wedding dress. After look after look of down-hearted, almost sad resignation to his fat Lacroix erupts with a fabulous bang, a gloriously embellished beauty of a dress with cascading lace sleeves, bright flowers and a towering head-dress the likes of which was last seen on Queen Amidala in Star Wars. As always with lacroix, truly visionary, managing to be timeless and yet on trend at the same time. Or at least as on trend as a wedding dress could possibly be. 

Is this his last hurrah? only time will tell.  In the past Lacroix has managed to triumph through all adversity, especially financial, so who knows. My heart says, though, that the world of couture is changing, and the style of the Lacroixs and Gallianos of this world are losing their impact in the fact of sporty wangster minimalism. I wish that all the various elements of fashion could co-exist harmoniously, but the market is not there for that. It's all about what's hot now, and flashing your money in the way that couture requires is definitely not what's hot now. This subtle, almost imperceptible shift is saddening and brings me no small amount of dismay. People should see couture for what it really is for so many people, especially those who aren't clients, a window into another world. A fantasy land just like any other show that allows a glimpse into a fashion that is so beautiful and rarefied that it belongs to some people only. 

I just hope that if and when Lacroix makes his comeback he will not be disillusioned by the state of fashion. He is one of the major players in haute couture, and his rousing standing ovation during this most recent show is testament to how much influence, experience and overwhelming respect the industry has for him. Without his unrestrained exuberance and wild style that won him no favours among the minimalism taste but set a precedence in couture for boldness, brashness and brightness the world of haute couture will be a very different place. 

Love live the king. 

X

 

WWD

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my first couture moment with christian lacroix

It was reading a Vogue in 2006, young and naive about fashion and seeing the ethereal lily cole from within the swathes of a tulle white confection. I was besotted with it, the dress, her face, the idea that the catwalk was selling to me. I cut it out and it went on my wall where it resides now, prime position on my mural wall. It was The Spring Couture collections in paris and the designer was Christian Lacroix. Later that year i would buy a pair of Christian Lacroix sunglasses and my love affair with this brand would begin.

Christian Lacroix is a designer well ahead of his time. In the 80s he was showing the kind of decadent elegance that now adorns the couture runways of Galliano and Gaultier, although, and it is true, it was done with a lot less finesse than he does it now. The poufs of sleeves, scalloped hems, lacy undershirts and gauzy overtops were all a little stiff. But now, and with this Spring collection, Christian Lacroix and the trends of fashion coincided and suddenly everything he was showing was bang on the money.

He was also a little older and wiser too. His brand had just been sold to the LVMH group and he had learnt a thing or two about the fickle business of 'la mode'. it can all be seen in this collection, things that i never noticed as a 15 year old ingenue just interested in the beauty of tulle. You can see it in the way he pairs his colours haphazardly together, or in the way the clothes are a little more clever, like they're winking at the audience saying, buy me, i cost hundreds of thousands of dollars... Unashamedly expensive, maybe, is the way to say it. Lacroix no longer had to deal with profits, that was the job of LVMH now. All he had to think about was the clothes.

Decorative, wild, extravagant, a feast for the eyes, this collection ties in with the rest of the past couture seasons for Lacroix. BUt it is also a standout for me, not just because it contains THE dress that first made me love couture. The collection, to me, also symbolised french history, and not in a crazy galliano way but in a really wearable way. It was beautiful, really really beautiful, and just clicking through style.com to find the pictures of the show has brought a smile to my face as i remember exactly why, in 2006, i fell in love with couture. AS i'm sure you will too.

And here it is. Beautifully finished, extraordinarily executed, lovely to see and (undoubtedly) to wear. *sigh*. don't you just love fashion?

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