Christian Lacroix on Fashion
Published in conjunction with an exhibition at Paris's Musée des Arts Décoratifs, this handsome volume presents a selection of fashions by noted designer Lacroix together with dresses and gowns by great couturiers who have inspired him—Worth, Pasquier, Balmain, Lanvin, Schiaparelli, Dior and others. All the fashions have been chosen by Lacroix from the museum's collection and arranged by theme, such as colors, exotic styles, stripes, spots and sculpted shells. Lacroix introduces each motif with a few words about why it's important to him and discusses influences, such as his childhood in Provence, where he began drawing clothing at an early age, reveled in colors, and drew inspiration from the traditional costumes of Arles. Haute couture should cling tightly to its obsession with the unusual, he states, and that maxim is amply realized in the extraordinary fashions shown from the past and from the House of Lacroix. Saillard, curator at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, and Mauriès (Cabinets of Curiosities) explore the designer's work. The appeal of this beautifully designed book is enhanced by the inclusion of some of Lacroix's colorful sketches.(Apr.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.