Fashion 88 : Lacroix’s First Ready-to-Wear Ready for Stores
Christian Lacroix aimed for greater glory Wednesday night as he showed his first collection of ready-to-wear clothing, which will sell at 130 stores around the world with price tags ranging from about $800 to $2,500 at U.S. outlets.
The big question before the show was whether Lacroix, widely credited with starting the current short-skirt trend in his custom line, would be able to translate his ornate curves and brilliant colors into mass-produced outfits at more affordable prices. Many buyers said after the show that he succeeded.
Trademarks Present
The high-waisted, paper-doll and trapeze shapes, the sun-drenched south-of-the-border shades, and the thigh-high hemlines for which he is famous were all evident in this 100-piece collection.
Coats in vivid hues of pink, orange, purple and lime were dazzling, short and shapely. Some have wide bands of smocking at the waistline above full skirts; others were narrow with fitted waistlines above hips that puff out at the sides.
Lacroix’s way with a suit was often quite subdued and perhaps best illustrated in a black-and-white checked wool with form-fitting jacket that curved down to the hips above a slim skirt. A small puff of fabric graced each shoulder in a miniature leg-o-mutton effect. Buyers have dubbed this the “dimple-shoulder suit,” and many said after the show that it was as beautifully structured as anything in his couture collection. Another applauded number was a taupe wool style carved into a bolero that fit snugly over a matching slim dress. It had wide brown beaver cuffs and a matching small cape collar.
A psychedelic section of the show owed more to the hippie generation than to the Basque peasant costumes of Lacroix’s birthplace in southern France, which he often credits as a major fashion inspiration. Slim knit dresses in screaming shades of yellow, purple or orange were decorated with bold swirls of embroidery or whimsical appliques, often in equally vivid shades. The models here wore small, mirror-decorated satchels that swung from shoulder straps that looked like macrame. All his accessories were wildly inventive and reminders of other eras, including flower-pot-brim fake leopard hats.
The designer’s flower-print silk charmeuse dresses with bias-cut skirts were reminiscent of 1940s designs. His bright white evening blouses with fluttery collars and ornamental sleeves, shown with black skirts or trousers, were essentially timeless. So were the swingy little black crepe dresses with free-form white organdy collars and the no-shaped taffeta smock dresses that fell unfettered from shoulder to mid-thigh.
For the young at heart, Lacroix’s delicate black evening sweaters featured sheer net shoulders and sleeves, crusty black embroidery over the bosom, and silky knits from below the bosom to the hips. These were shown with a variety of slim and full skirts.
It was difficult to gauge audience reaction during the event. There were few of the spontaneous bursts of applause that are usual at successful shows. Lacroix did not get a standing ovation. But pandemonium raged afterwards backstage, as buyers congratulated him repeatedly using the word brilliant.
A five-person delegation from Bullocks Wilshire, which will carry the collection in its Los Angeles and La Jolla stores, included store president Terry Lundgren, fashion director Rosemarie Troy and couture buyer Germaine Sheppard. “The clothes are creatively divine,” said Troy, adding that “Lacroix takes classics and modernizes them.” Agreed Sheppard, “He combines innocence with whimsy in a very special way.”
Will women want to wear clothes as short as Lacroix shows them? “They won’t have to,” explained Troy. “He’s delivering them at 23 inches, which is just at the top of the knee.”
Sidestepping Hemlines
Lacroix answered the hemline question by sidestepping it slightly. “Not all women wear short skirts now,” he said, “and I don’t expect them to do so in the future. I love many lengths.”
Joan Kaner, vice president and fashion director at Macy’s, said her stores will not carry this first collection because distribution is so limited. But she said she wishes she could get it. “He’s a breath of fresh air,” Kaner said, “and he takes chances he doesn’t have to take. Some of his designs work brilliantly, others don’t work at all. But he’s willing to try anything.”
She calls his coats “wonderful,” his dimple-shoulder suits “superb,” and his crystal pleated skirts “gorgeous.” He is both sophisticated and naive at the same time, she concluded.
Lacroix will show a higher-price retail collection, called Luxe, early next week.
