Christian Lacroix at Paris Fashion Week. Photo Credit: Splash News
By Ruchira Haldar
Frenchman Christian Lacroix took fashion to new heights this week, showing a love for excessive color, dramatic designs, and unheard of combinations of fabric and form. He truly stretched the imagination to yet another level with splashes of sequins, oversized beads, and platform shoes in future-styled patterns. The effect was stunning.
Lacroix first opened his own couture base in 1987 and never looked back since. Not only did he redefine couture with an original sense of style, he took this carefree abandon into the ready-to-wear line for the masses. Perhaps no other name is as synonymous with French culture as Christian Lacroix. He is known for his trademark “le pouf’ wedding dress and ending every couture show with a bridal gown. In 2004, he designed the new uniforms for the entire staff and crew of Air France, giving them a look of refined elegance and a brand new take on corporate style. Every passenger lucky enough to travel Air France’s first class are treated to pyjamas with his signature on them. Lacroix has also designed for the French edition of Mattel’s Barbie as well as the Olympic costume for French figure skater Surya Bonaly. His stamp on French culture is undeniable.
According to Lacroix, “It’s a mistake to give in to the mood of the moment. On the contrary, we must go one step further and beyond toward the next generation who are bound to have another approach to clothing, to consumer-buying and luxury.” His current collection testifies to this with its’ larger-than-life assortment of colors, accessories, and bold Lacroix style. Every design filled the runway with drama, color and the personality Lacroix is so famous for. Hues were mostly reds, blacks and whites with some blue and green thrown in on occasion. There were plenty of bubble dresses in organza material, sequin dresses in silver and black, and jackets in geometric designs from jacquard material. The highlight of the show was a floor-length geometric white-and-black dress with short sleeves and a bubble hem. Most of the dresses had short hemlines and were matched with colored platform shoes. Models wore short red wigs, oversized bright beads around the neck or wrists, and heavy black liner around the eyes. Unlike his contemporaries who are satisfied with merely celebrating the trends, Lacroix steers his creative eye towards the future, pushing the boundaries of an ever-changing world.
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