I haven't always been the biggest fan of Christian Lacroix's work. But due to recent events regarding his line's future, I feel compelled to stick on his side. After all, the fate of Lacroix could very well represent the fate of couture. Lacroix is the last true couturier— he stopped relying on jeans, ready-to and bags years ago. And while this preserves the integrity of his art, it also makes him financially vulnerable. Despite having a very loyal client base and industry respect, Lacroix, like all designers, loses money on couture. Yet unlike Lagerfeld for Chanel, his losses are not buffered by gains through coveted perfumes and status bags. Because of this reality, couture no longer exists as business, but purely as art. In a way, this allows designers freedom without monetary incentive. What worries me however, is that this system seems to prove that art, perhaps like all things, cannot exist without financial backers.
Call me naive, but I find this to be a cruel reality. As someone who is dedicating her life to fashion, not only as a business, but also as a lifestyle and philosophy, this truth would be too much. Romanticism aside, fashion needs dreamers like Lacroix and their grandiose ideas to inspire and trickle down into the industry. Couture isn't merely display. It is the driving force, an impetus of the seasons. It is the idea behind the action. Lacroix's ordeal has touched me because he understands this. As he wrote in an open letter to his workers, "I don't know what tomorrow will be made of, if indeed there is a tomorrow, but I will do everything to ensure we remain a couture house 200%, and to safeguard a knowhow without which the lungs and the heart of this house would not exist." Someone who has been designing for free and is owed 1.2 millions euros for his work clearly had motivations other than sales. Lacroix's courageous fight isn't only for his own house, but also for the creative, pure concept behind it. His designs acknowledge the notion of escapism in the most triumphant way possible, as no other couturier can.
I'm reminded of something he said in an interview years ago, in more optimistic times. Lacroix stated, "The world needs some excitement from fashion. The big evolutions in fashion always come in times when things are tough. They are an escape to a better world." This assertion is undoubtedly right. My hope remains that during the evolution we don't discard the past.
Photos from Style.com
