Christian Marie Marc Lacroix (; born 16 May 1951) is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded.
Lacroix's designs combine luxury and insouciance. He prefers artisanal trades, fringe, bead, and embroidery. He's characterized by a strong sense of colour, and patterns mix.
Early life and education
Lacroix was born in
Arles
Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...
, Bouches-du-Rhône in southern France. At a young age he began sketching historical costumes and fashions. Lacroix graduated from secondary school in 1969 and moved to
Montpellier
Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
, to study art history at the
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...
. In 1971, he enrolled at the
Sorbonne in Paris. While working on a dissertation on dress in French 18th-century painting, Lacroix also pursued a program in museum studies at the
École du Louvre
The École du Louvre () is a selective institution of higher education and prestigious ''grande école'' located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology ...
. His aspiration during this time was to become a museum curator. It was during this time he met his future wife Françoise Rosenthiel, whom he married in 1974.
Early beginnings
From 1985 to 1987, Lacroix worked at the Paris couture house of
Jean Patou.
''Christian Lacroix''
History
In 1987, Lacroix opened his own eponymous
haute couture
(; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design. The term ''haute couture'' generally refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the ...
house,
backed by $8 million from
Financière Agache. He began putting out
ready-to-wear
Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à -porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...
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). Italian manufacturer
Genny was licensed to manufacture and distribute the line. The same year, the brand opened boutiques within Paris, Arles,
Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
,
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, London,
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, and Japan.
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
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
region, a hodgepodge of patterns, and experimental fabrics, sometimes handwoven in local workshops. He is known for his theatrical style which came from his work while in the theatre. This usually shows up with his use of colour in the collections he designs.
From 1987 to its purchase from
LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...
by
Falic Fashion Group in 2005, the fashion house had cumulative losses of more than €44 million.
In 2009, Falic Fashion Group put the business into administration
and laid off all but 12 workers. The company's turnaround plan consisted of closing down Lacroix's haute couture and pret-a-porter activities, while keeping the licensing contracts for accessories and perfume. Lacroix's A/W 2009 Haute Couture was privately financed by Lacroix and each model was paid €50. "I didn't want to cry," said Lacroix "I want to continue, maybe in a different way, with a small atelier. What I really care about is the women who do this work" Lacroix said about his last Haute Couture collection. Throughout its history, it never turned a profit
and reported a €10 million loss in 2008.
[Christian Lacroix goes bust as taste for luxury dries up]
Times of London, 28 May 2009. At the time, news media reported about potential investors – including
Ali Al-Naimi – but all failing to give financial guarantees in time for the courts to approve a takeover.
He is known for his theatrical style which came from his work while in the theatre. This usually shows up with his use of colour in the collections he designs. Along with this, he is also known for his 'le pouf' dress (featuring the ball skirt).
Christian Lacroix has designed many dresses for Hollywood stars; among them, he was responsible for designing
Christina Aguilera
Christina MarÃa Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...
'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).
In 2025, Spain's Sociedad Textil Lonia (STL) acquired the Christian Lacroix fashion house for an undisclosed sum.
Diffusion lines
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").
From 1996 to 2006, the brand operated the Christian Lacroix Jeans
diffusion line
A diffusion line (also known as a bridge line) is a secondary line of merchandise created by a high-end fashion house or fashion designer that retails at lower prices. These ranges are separate from a fashion house's "signature line", or principal ...
. He included past traditions from all around the world, continuing the line with even more on ethnic arts.
In 2000 he finished a line of novelty accessories which included semi-precious jewelry.
In 2001, Lacroix also launched a children's line.
In 2004, Lacroix launched a lingerie for women line, as well as a menswear line.
Collaborations
In 1997, the Art de la Table line was launched by Lacroix 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 2007, Christian Lacroix designed a festive, limited-edition bottle for French mineral water brand
Evian
Evian (, ; , stylized as evian) is a French brand that bottles mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva.
Evian is owned by Danone, a French multinational corporation. In addition to the miner ...
.
In 2011, Lacroix started collaborating with the Barcelona-based clothing brand
Desigual.
In 2013,
Diego Della Valle hired Lacroix to create a collection for
Maison Schiaparelli, though it failed to materialize.
Cosmetics
In 1999, Lacroix launched the brand's first line of floral perfume. In 2002, the brand launched another perfume, Bazar,
created by
Bertrand Duchaufour
Bertrand Duchaufour () is a French perfumer. He has had a prolific career, beginning in Grasse at Lautier Florasynth and continuing for a number of fragragrance firms as well as working independently and as the house perfumer for L'Artisan Parfumeu ...
,
Jean-Claude Ellena and Emilie Copperman.
For Winter 2007, Lacroix partnered with
Avon cosmetics to introduce a new fragrance exclusive to Avon called Christian Lacroix Rouge for women (plus body lotion and shower gel) and Christian Lacroix Noir for men (plus after shave lotion and shower gel). His Avon product line was expanded with the release of Christian Lacroix Absynthe in the Spring of 2009, Christian Lacroix Absynthe For Him in the autumn of 2009, Christian Lacroix Nuit in fall 2011 and Christian Lacroix Nuit For Him in winter 2011, Christian Lacroix Ambre for Her and Christian Lacroix Ambre for Him in winter 2014, Christian Lacroix Bijou for Her and Christian Lacroix Bijou for Him in fall 2015.
Other activities
''Emilio Pucci'', 2002–2005
Lacroix served as the Creative Director for the Italian fashion house
Emilio Pucci
Emilio Pucci, Marchese di Barsento (; 20 November 1914 – 29 November 1992) was an Italian Marquess, aristocrat, fashion designer and politician. He and his eponymous company Pucci designed geometric prints in many colors.
Early life
Pucci wa ...
from 2002 to 2005. He left on agreeable terms as he and the house believed that since he had other pursuits, it would be unfair to the house to not put in the energy required for future collections along with his other work.
XCLX, 2005–present
Through his XCLX company which was established in 2005, Lacroix created décor for the French TGV high-speed train. Also with XCLX, he was the designer of the new uniform of
Air France
Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...
staff and crew in 2004 and pyjamas signed by him are handed out to passengers travelling on Air France First Class (L'Espace Premier). The firm completed interior design work at several landmark hotels, including the Hotel Le Petit Moulin in Spring, 2005;
the Hotel Bellechasse, right in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Paris), in 2007 (a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World); and in 2010 Le Notre Dame hotel just a step from the cathedral Notre-Dame-de-Paris, as well as Hotel l'Antoine near the Bastille area in Paris.
Costume design
Lacroix's costume designs for the opera, theatre, dance and music were displayed at the exhibition "Christian Lacroix Costumier" at the National Museum of Singapore from March to June 2009. In 2022, he produced the costumes for the
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...
's opéra ''
David et Jonathas'', performed at the
Château de Versailles, France.
References
External links
Christian LacroixOfficial site
*
20 years of the House of Lacroix
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacroix, Christian
1951 births
Living people
French brands
French fashion designers
French interior designers
Haute couture
High fashion brands
People from Arles
Christian Lacroix
Christian Marie Marc Lacroix (; born 16 May 1951) is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded.
Lacroix's designs combine luxury and insouciance. He prefers artisanal trades, fringe, bead, and embroidery. He's ...
University of Montpellier alumni
École du Louvre alumni
University of Paris alumni
1980s fashion
Businesspeople from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur