Christian la croix biography examples

The seventies–considered as a style–were the age of the discovery of kitsch and all that was ‘cheap’. The materials that were used, in the form in which they reached the streets at any rate, speak for themselves: imitation leather, skinny rib-knit sweaters, plastic, vinyl with the transparent film inevitably peeling off, heavy fake-metal buckles and so on, all in aid of a style based pretty closely on that of the 1930s. I absolutely do not believe in the notion of ‘re-creating’ a particular style or look. (Marguerite Carré, one of Dior’s principal collaborators in the New Look era, once told me that she had refused to become involved in the reconstruction of one of the styles for a museum because she believed the whole enterprise to be simply impossible, as so many essential though apparently trivial ingredients–textures, body proportions, the model’s hands and her imagination, all inextricably linked, had changed: models embody the spirit of the times.)

Born in 1951 in Trinquetaille, part of the historic Provençal city of Arles, Christian Lacroix now divides his time between Paris and his beloved hometown.

He studied art history and literature at the University of Montpellier before heading north to complete his classical education at the Sorbonne in Paris and at the prestigious Ecole du Louvre. Soon he realized that his true calling was fashion and historical costume design, not art history or archaeology. His first job was with Hermès, then with Guy Paulin in Paris, Italy, and Japan. In 1982, Lacroix was hired by the financier Bernard Arnault as artistic director of the Jean Patou couture house, a position he held until 1987, when Lacroix established his own haute couture label.

His colorful, high-concept designs—which were inspired by folklore and fairy tales, French history, and the Mediterranean and included the inventive “pouf” skirt—brought him international acclaim. In 1987 the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) named Lacroix the “most influential” foreign designer. The Lacroix luxury brand would expand to include jewelry, accessories, shoes, children’s wear, and perfume, among other areas, with boutiques in London, Geneva, and Japan.

While developing a name for himself as one of Paris top couturiers, Lacroix was also designing theatrical sets and costumes for the Paris Opéra Garnier and the Comédie Française as well as for the Metropolitan Opera in New York and opera houses in Brussels, Vienna, and Berlin.

In the last decade he has branched out, designing the interiors of high-speed trains, boutique hotels, and movie theaters. In 2003 he designed new uniforms for Air France personnel. He also designed a number of museum exhibitions, including major retrospectives of his work as a couturier for the Centre National du Costume de Scène in Moulins, France (2006), for the Mus&eacut