Thursday, June 25, 2009

Wherein Style Spy Selflessly Volunteers for a Good Cause

As you may have heard, Christian Lacroix is in trouble. His company filed for the French equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late May and the company is currently shaking down and possibly undergoing some major re-structuring. With all that, M. Lacroix has declared that he still intends to hold a couture show this July in Paris. He says, "It can't cost us a single euro to put this show on, because I'm not having my workers lose a penny from their pockets, but so far, it looks like thanks to other people's kindness – friends and suppliers working for free – it might happen." This means that everyone associated with the show, including models, will have to volunteer and work without pay.

Okay, where do I sign up? Seriously. This is a cause for which I have absolutely no problem volunteering. I will more than happily do my bit to save Fashion.
Yours truly has absolutely no extra money right now, but I would beg, borrow, or steal a kidney to get a ticket to Paris in order to amble down the Lacroix runway in something like this:



(Because I? Would ROCK that suit.)

or this



(I'll even let them put a little cinnabun thingie on top of my head if they want. I'm cool.)


and if they wanted to gimme a little sumpin'-sumpin' to take home as a soovie, these would do juuuuuust fine:




So.

I've taken the liberty of contacting the nice people at Christian Lacroix and volunteered my services as a model. I don't feel this is completely out of the realm of the possible, since Lacroix publicly supports British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman's call for models who are not so cadaverously thin as the current trend demands: "Very skinny women don't look beautiful in clothes. What I cannot stomach, because it evokes the war to me, is when you can see a woman's kneecap protruding in its entirety, skinny elbows, or a woman's chest bones." (See? This is a man whose company deserves to be saved!)

If you'd like to support your Style Spy's efforts here, please feel free to contact them via e-mail to advocate for my cause. If they let me do it, I promise to take lots & lots & lots of photos and come back with the fashion scoop of a lifetime, so everyone wins! (Just be aware that if they agree, I'll be hitting you all up for frequent flyer miles!) And remember -- this isn't about me, or my selfish couture desires -- it's about saving Fashion!!

In the meantime, you can do your bit to help save Christian Lacroix by doing what we love to do best: shopping!
How about these? (click photos for links!)

Christian Lacroix - 983183 (Black Satin) - Footwear

J'adore beaucoup this beaded Eiffel Tower motif, and have shown you the high-heel version of these shoes before. But these are even better because they're flats, so I wouldn't need a special occasion to walk around with my favorite icon on my feet -- I could wear them to the grocery store! Oh, so love!

Or these lovely things

Christian Lacroix - 984951 (Black Satin) - Footwear

which I featured a runway version of on this blog many, many moons ago. Such a pretty boot. Wouldn't those be great with a black pencil skirt and a charmeuse blouse? Just a little extra sexy added to classic. ::sigh::

At the very least, let's all hold a good thought for M. Lacroix, a man who is generally considered in the fashion world to be a genuine sweetheart. Lacroix is one of the truly great creative minds in fashion today, his designs season after season represent the limitless possibilities of couture -- the wild flights of fancy, the exuberance, the astonishing eye for detail, the riotous colors, the tumult of pattern and fabric and texture all meticulously crafted by artisans at the pinnacle of their crafts. Losing Lacroix would bring us one step closer to the demise of that brilliant, beautiful and necessary species called couture, one step closer to a uniform world of gray jumpsuits and workboots.













Images: Style.com





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6 comments:

Haute World said...

Definitely a worthy cause. I will totally support you modeling the couture collection. I will even let you crash at my place if you promise to share any Lacroix souvenirs with me ;-)

I do love his creations though. I sometimes have to laugh, because I occassionally associate Lacroix with Absoultely Fabulous and Edwina always wore the craziest of his outfits ('it's Lacroix daahhling"). Those shoes you posted are yummy...

Belle de Ville said...

As The Haute Shopper said, the shoes are yummy...but LaCroix, as talented as he is, has always been a little too over the top for me.
I always sort of felt than LaCroix models on the runway looked like over sized bon-bons. And, if you lived the life of an 18th Century French aristocrat (pre-revolution of course) the poufy skirts, bright color and sumptuous fabrics would be perfect

Toby Wollin said...

OK...I'm ready to go three rounds with you for the pant suit - which I, as an official 'Short Person' would rock unbelieveably well (because short jackets and vestees just look awesome on my truncated body). I WOULD, however, in a fit of charity, allow you to have the pleated trousers because teh pleats are NOT moi.

Thumbelina Fashionista said...

So sad. But you think with fashion houses on the brink of bankruptcy they'd have more reasonable prices. You'd rock the runway, btw.

Imogen Lamport, AICI CIP said...

Lacroix has an amazing imagination. Good luck with your quest!

dana said...

Have they called yet?