A Man for One Season

Christian Lacroix poufed his way to notoriety in the late 1980's with his exuberant and over the top confections.

His legacy is inextricably entwined with that time, fairly or not.

His use of pattern on pattern, an overscale costume aesthetic, and, for that era, unique color combinations, marked him not so much as a visionary, but more as a ring leader and agent provocateur of the "more is more" trend that encapsulated those times.

Beloved of the billionaires' wives of those heady days, the Susan Gutfreunds and Gayfried Steinbergs, who were breathlessly followed by Vogue and WWD, the backlash inevitably occurred, sweeping all before it, like a
tsunami of schadenfreude.  The early 90's had arrived, and the mighty, and their minions, fell.

Did Christian Lacroix get that memo?

Apparently not.

Lacroix never wavered. He designed his brand of haute couture until the end of 2010, hanging on, designing away, while minimalism took it's shot, and other established designers prospered in a constantly shifting retail environment.

His take on the trends?  Let them dress in silks and satins for day AND night while others wear Calvin Klein pantsuits! You know - business as usual.

Lacroix, in all his excess and creativity, foreshadowed later designers, forging a path for the McQueens, Gallianos, Theyskens et al, establishing himself as a courageous and insouciant visionary, a torch bearer for the artisanal.

I would call him the Diana Vreeland of the haute couture, in a category all his own.

An original - period.

He will be vindicated.  It's just a matter of time.

Herewith, some of his iconic designs.