Back in April, at Hy√®res, I attended a conference entitled ‘Profitable, you said?’, discussing the ways of stayng profitable in the fashion industry, and one of the speakers was Christian Lacroix, who has endured the test of time in the fashion business precisely because he has shrewdly taken on projects other than his couture and ready to wear lines; collaborations, diffusion lines, homeware, even designing interiors for TGV trains. I listened with a lot of skepticism as I don’t believe this business model necessarily works for every designer but for Lacroix, you have to give props to him for being able to diversify yet not lose any integrity. Lacroix’s latest collaboration is with La Redoute and I do believe they have put in a lot of effort into the ‘push’ for the range of fashion and homeware products Lacroix has designed for the French mail order company.
I had only seen a few pieces of the collection and wasn’t particularly blown away but the website is a bit of a gem if you can stand lots of flash animation. If you let the website run it’s natural course, you’ll see Lily Cole exploring Lacroix’s house and modelling Lacroix’s creations for La Redoute. It’s a bit of a surreal dollshouse that has an eclectic mix of old fashioned fleurs, art nouveau patterns mixing with stripes and bold poppy colours.
The collection itself is nothing to go ker-razy about but it does suit Lily Cole to the tea, playing up on the dark dolly look with ruffled trenches, lace overlay dresses and cute boots.
‘Falbala’ Trench Coat ¬£185 // ‘Sevillane’ Dress ¬£109
‘Hacienda’ Cowboy Boots ¬£99 // ‘Feria’ Large Bag ¬£119
The thing I actually like the most is this ‘Alhambra’ screen that comes in two designs. Getting undressed and dressed in front of someone takes all the mystery out of wow-ing them with your outfit so a screen would come in handy for unveiling your outfit in a dramatic fashion. I love how the screen is decorated with Lacroix’s sketch as well as a close up shot of shantung silk.
I love that red coat, and the boots. And yes, teh screen is delightful – so dramatic!
I am a huge fan of performance art right now and Lacroix’s collaboration/website ranks right up there with those I would point to for peeps to check out. Very creative. And I want my daughter to get the dress, probably in black. Thanks for the heads up, Susie. Love it!
I wasn’t too impressed with the collection either :/
Have you ever realized that when you buy readymade suits you get a choice of only a few colors & styles, also finding the perfect fit are quite difficult? Wouldn’t it be better to choose from over 2000 different British & Italian fabrics and get a tailor made suit at a similar price that you pay for readymade suits?
We are a company based in Hong Kong and have been providing custom made suits & shirts since 1997. With representatives in major cities around the globe we can arrange to show you the fabric samples and take your measurements, or you can also place your orders online with the help of our measuring guide. There are over 2000 fabrics to choose from along with all the latest styles.
All our suits and shirts are produced by highly skilled Shanghainese tailors in Hong Kong and delivered in about 4 weeks, express delivery can be made in 2 weeks at a minor extra cost. In case you are not able to find what you are looking for then please let us know your requirement may it be in words or by a photograph and we could arrange it for you.
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Kenny Surtani
Thank you for bringing this site to my attention! I adore Lily (evident by my blog)… and Lacroix for that matter, so this is an absolute joy. I’m liking the boots most, so far anyway…
I thought this little collection was alright, but a bit pricey for what you were really getting, these pieces were so novelty i can’t imagine wearing them that often.