designer's discription

1. FASHION OVERVIEW
DESIGNER’S DESCRIPTION
(CHRISTIAN LACROIX)
BY:JANVI JAIN
ROLL NO:140502012

3. BIOGRAPHY
Lacroix 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.

5. • 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.

6. • Christian Lacroix,
bubble skirt, 1988

7. • 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.

8. 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.

9. 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 Lacroix
filing bankrupt.

10. highlights
His 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.

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

12. 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.

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

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. collection
AUTUMN/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.

21. Sombre: The mood of the collection was funereal,
with much black on show
Nearly 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.

22. 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

23. Segment : Women with a taste for panache and designer label belonging to premium class
Target group : Women from the urban upper class
Positioning : Couture clothing line with French detailing
Strength
1. Niche premium segment clothing catering to people who have lived fashion
2. 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 celebrities
4. The brand has diversified into product lines like Fragrances, Home, Handbags, and
Shoes
5. Around the world, Lacroix has 1,000 total points of sale.
Weakness
1. Sometimes perceived as an extremely expensive product
2. Competition from existing brands means more brand switching
3. The brand has not been able to generate profits

24. THANK YOU