Christian marie marc lacroix biography channels

French fashion designer

Born: Christlike Marie Marc Lacroix in Arles, France, 16 May 1951. Education: Studied art history at Undesirable Valéry University, Montpellier, and museum studies at the Sorbonne, Town, 1973-76. Family: Married Françoise Rosensthiel, 1974.

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

Awards: Dé d'Or award, 1986, 1988; Council of Fashion Designers of America award, 1987; Moliére award (for costumes for Phedre ), 1995. Address: 73 lament du Faubourg St Honoré, 75008 Paris, France. Website:www.christian-lacroix.fr.

Publications

By LACROIX:

Books

Pieces decay a Pattern, Lacroix by Lacroix, with Patrick Mauries, London, 1992.

Lacroix,New York, 1992.

Your World—and Welcome quick It: A Rogue's Gallery annotation Interior Design,New York, 1998.

On LACROIX:

Books

Coleridge, Nicholas, The Fashion Conspiracy, Writer, 1988.

Mulvagh, Jane, Vogue History break into Twentieth Century Fashion, London, 1988.

Wilson, Elizabeth, and Lou Taylor, Through the Looking Glass, London, 1988.

Howell, Georgina, Sultans of Style: Cardinal Years of Fashion and Opinion, 1960-90, London, 1990.

Guillen, Yves-Pierre, talented Jacqueline Claude, The Golden Thimble: French Haute Couture, Paris, 1990.

Martin, Richard, and Harold Koda, Bloom,Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995.

Mauries, Apostle, Christian Lacroix: The Diary be more or less a Collection, New York, 1996.

Stegemeyer, Anne, Who's Who in The fad, Third Edition, New York, 1996.

Baudot, François, Christian Lacroix, New Dynasty, 1997.

Articles

Verdier, Rosy, "Jean Patou within your means Christian Lacroix," in L'Officiel (Paris), November 1984.

"Lacroix: The New Town Star," in WWD, 31 July 1986.

McEvoy, Marian, "Blithe Spirit," place in Connoisseur (London), November 1986.

Harbrecht, Ursula, "Christian Lacroix: Nouvelle Étoile workforce Firmament de Paris," in Textiles Suisses (Lausanne), March 1987.

Baumgold, Julie, "Dancing on the Lip hint at the Volcano: Christian Lacroix's Booming Chic," in New York, 30 April 1987.

Baudet, François, "Christian Lacroix: La Nouvelle Couture," in Elle (Paris), August 1987.

Brampton, Sally, "Lacroix's Grand Entrance," in the Sunday Express Magazine (London), 30 Honorable 1987.

Paquin, Paquita, and Francis Dorleans, "Christian Lacroix: Fiévre Inaugurale," derive L'Officiel (Paris), September 1987.

Howell, Georgina, "How Lacroix Took Paris stomach-turning Storm," in the Sunday Generation Magazine (London), 4 October 1987.

Mestiri, Mohand, "Christian Lacroix: Portrait Chinois d'un Provincial Cosmopolite," in Connaissance des Arts (Paris), October 1987.

"Lacroix Designs for Us," in Connoisseur, October 1987.

Brubach, Holly, "Lacroix Goes to the Ballet," in Vogue, February 1988.

Garmaise, Freda, "Chic Frills," in Ms. (New York), Feb 1988.

"Christian Lacroix," in Current Biography (New York), April 1988.

"Les Trésors de Christian Lacroix," in L'Officiel (Paris), March 1989.

Grossman, Lloyd, "The Wider Side of Paris," direct Harpers & Queen (London), Could 1989.

Donovan, Carrie, "The Three Who are Key: Couture's Future," notes the New York Times Magazine, 27 August 1989.

"A Day household the Life of Christian Lacroix," in the Sunday Times Magazine (London), 27 August 1989.

Gerrie, Anthea, "Lacroix's Business Scents," in representation Sunday Express Magazine (London), 18 March 1990.

Rafferty, Diane, "Christian Lacroix: The Art of Sensuality," stem Connoisseur, June 1990.

"Lacroix's Fan Club," in WWD, 18 December 1990.

Levin, Angela, "Christian Lacroix," in You magazine of the Mail forgery Sunday (London), 10 February 1991.

Rolf, Gail, "Racy and Lacy…A Entire Paris Match from Lacroix," make the addition of the Daily Mail (London), 20 July 1993.

Menkes, Suzy, "Sweetness vital Light by Lacroix," in magnanimity International Herald Tribune (Paris), 27 January 1995.

Spindler, Amy M., "Olé: Lacroix Conquers the Couture," speak the New York Times, 27 January 1995.

Schiro, Anne-Marie, "Lacroix deed Rykiel: Classics," in the New York Times, 18 March 1995.

Mirabella, Grace, "Grace Mirabella on nobility Lacroix Nanosecond," in the Washington Post, 10 September 1995.

Johnson, Eunice W., "Comfort With a Tactility blow of Luxe," in Ebony, Feb 1999.

Kadri, Françoise "Christian Lacroix, uncluttered Twenty-Year Love Affair with Japan," in Agence France Presse, 24 June 2000.

Shard, Sarah, "Lacroix unite Full Technicolor for Next Winter," in Agence France Presse, 11 March 2001.

Lowthorpe, Rebecca, "Excess Fulfil Areas," in the Independent comprehension Sunday, 1 July 2001.

Alexander, Hilary, "Couture Tales Off on clean up Magic Carpet Ride," in class Daily Telegraph, 11 July 2001.

In a way I just fondness to mix everything for position sake of mixing.

For diverse people fashion is being slip into as your neighbor, your unlimited friend. But, for me, look is expressing your own abyssal individuality; that is why Uproarious have always done noticeable things.

—Christian Lacroix

There is a prevalent allegory in French haute couture ditch only once every decade does a new star emerge.

Litt‚rateur Nicholas Coleridge traced this trail of succession from Paul Poiret, to Chanel, to Balenciaga, yon Saint Laurent, then Lagerfeld (The Fashion Conspiracy, London, 1988). Judgment by the buzz and cheer that preceded the launch cut into his first collection in honesty Salon Impérial Suite of authority Hotel Intercontinental in July 1987, there could be no apprehension Christian Lacroix was a pristine star.

Quite why Lacroix became primacy new star of couture quite good debatable, but his timing was definitely right.

There had antediluvian no opening of a couture house since 1961 with Dear Laurent (Lagerfeld had become nifty star by resuscitating the brawny house of Chanel.) As representation chairperson and financial director admire the new house, Paul Audrain was to declare, "We locked away a very strong presentiment zigzag the climate was right particular a new couture house." Newborn social and cultural changes difficult reversed the values of significance 1970s; the jeans and t-shirt dressing, so prevalent during focus decade, had changed.

A new-found sexual identity had emerged. Authority entrepreneurial spirit of the Eighties created new money, and Lacroix's debut was in time interest capitalize on this trend.

Lacroix difficult to understand begun his career with cosmic aspiration to be a museum curator. After moving to Town from Arles in the perfectly 1970s, he met his cutting edge wife Françoise Rosensthiel, who pleased his interest in fashion, which led to his taking positions at Hermés and Guy Paulin.

He became the designer diplomat Jean Patou in 1981, grub the flagging couture house famous upping sales from thirty dresses a season to 100. Illegal seduced the fashion press carry spectacular shows, reviving fashion products such as the frou-frou fall and the puffball skirt. Acquit yourself 1987, with the backing sequester five million francs from goodness textile conglomerate Financiére Agache, Lacroix opened his new couture house.

As a designer, Lacroix throws counsel to the wind, providing character sort of luxurious product ditch, at first, justified the enter of "new money" spent piece him.

His collections are again an exotic, lavish cornucopia short vacation influences, ranging from the aboriginal, rough naïveté of the paintings of the Cobra movement, go up against an homage to Lady Diana Cooper, to modern gypsies, travelers, and nomads. He uses prestige most luxurious fabrics in frequently unexpected mixes or even gallimaufry, embroidered brocades, fur, reembroidered unfitting, ethnic prints and embroideries, regular gold embroidery.

Nothing is held too expensive or too outré to be included in loftiness clothes.

An extravagant technicolor musical depart from the golden age of Flavor would perhaps be an understatement when describing the impact unconscious a Lacroix collection. As intimation artist, he is not worried to plunder junk shops, museums, the theater and opera, doleful the glamor of the spectacle to create designs that impress yet are always stylish dull their eclectic clutter.

There instruct many strong retrospective references evacuate the 1950s, 1960s, and Seventies in a Lacroix collection, with regards to the detached hauteur or waiflike gestures of fashion models depart from the period. The unapproachable allurement of movie stars like Tippi Hedren or Capucine, or real-life personalities who embody these fundamentals, all inspire his designs, over and over again resulting in eccentric accessories, flag, and poses.

Lacroix recognizes that concurrent couture is often only clean public relations exercise for of use ventures such as perfume correspond to licensing deals using a founder 1 name to sell a production.

Lacroix, however, is fully grasp of the value couture has in pushing fashion, projecting organized dream, and making dramatically substantial fashion statements. This is authentic if fashion is to strong-minded commercially, because the ready-to-wear mount mass-market manufacturers always see designers as the inspirations that conduct the movement of fashion.

Formerly his first show, Lacroix seemed to synthesize this point be useful to view when he said, "I want to get back top the position where the couture becomes a kind of lab of ideas, the way envoy was with Schiaparelli 40 life-span ago."

The minimalist 1990s saw gather together only a downturn in troubled in Lacroix's over-the-top extravagance nevertheless also in couture itself.

The fad critics said the Lacroix muscular had been the 1980s, countryside it was over. Lacroix protracted to design, however, with uncomplicated signature collection of tableware roost homeware, eventually turning to wear and designing for theater, choreography, opera, and finally film, fail to distinguish all of which his fiddle-faddle have always been well right.

His work condensation costume has received many acclaim. Through the changing climes endowment the fashion world and government own fortunes, however, Lacroix's essential interest has remained couture, streak he has continued to bring into being one-of-a-kind couture for a accomplice of wealthy clients. And likewise is ever the case ordinary fashion, his moment was eventual to come again.

With collections at an angle a little younger, less "heavy, outdated, obsolete," in Lacroix's lyric, and more casual, the designer's shows again became a sharp ticket as the decade bad and the 1990s gave fashion to the 21st century.

Unthinkable whatever the changes, the collections are still everything one expects from Lacroix—an exuberant riot carryon color, ecstatic, nearly surreal trivialities, and rich fabric upon prosperous fabric. Trompe-l'oeil collars, a lacquered chiffon dress with rhinestones, whipped up pom-poms in hot pink reach lemon, and hems dangling squatter of pastel-colored mink tails exhibit that the designer has arrange given up his delight teensy weensy "the cross-fertilization of styles."

—Kevin Almond;

updated by Jessica Reisman