Talent does not always equate to success in the worlds of art and fashion. And yesterday, one of the greatest fashion talents Christian Lacroix staged what is likely his last haute couture collection at the Musee des Art Decoratifs in Paris. Forced into receivership in May, Lacroix has been looking for a buyer to rescue the fashion house and unless he finds one, the beautiful clothing shown yesterday will likely never go into production.
That prompted me to pull out the book "Christian Lacroix: On Fashion" from my library of fashion and art books. This exquisite book is filled with pages and pages of gorgeous haute couture confections, some of which look as if they could have been worn in the 18th century. And perhaps in this world of casual dress where people wear jeans to the opera, Lacroix's talent was not sufficiently appreciated.
I was particularly taken with a chapter of the book called Cobwebs where Lacrois says "From sketch to dress, from fabric to lace, thread is another running theme. It is both a motif and a form of writing; the bare bones of fashion, a glittering spider's web that has no wrong side or right side when it becomes a transparent dress." (page 171).
I've been researching spider webs myself for my artwork (spider webs are nature's lace!) and I will be posting images of how I've integrated this into my fashion plates later this week. Needless to say, I found Lacroix's work breath-taking in conception and execution.
Title: Christian Lacroix, On Fashion
Text by: Christian Lacroix, Patrick Mauries and Olivier Saillard
Photographs by Gregoire Alexandre
Publisher: Thames and Hudson, 2007
Price: USA $65 Canada $71.50
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