ThE WaNtEd FaShIoNs....

Today is the birthday of French designer Christian Lacroix, who changed the world of fashion having brought bright colors to the haute couture and mixed a tradition with avant-garde.

The designer was born in Arles in 1951 in the family of engineers who have inculcated in him a taste for the stage. He spent most of his childhood at the picturesque forests and the Camargue beaches, theatres and operas. The art and history became his biggest passions, so no wonder that Christian Lacroix chose to study Art History at the University of Montpellier. He then continued his studies at the Sorbonne in Paris and the Ecole du Louvre, planning to become a museum curator.

Yet, the fashion had already agitated his creative mind and, after graduation, he tried himself as a designer, first a free-lance one, creating shoes and accessories.

In 1974, Christian Lacroix married Francoise Rosenthiel, the woman who encouraged his passion for art and drawing. Then, he met Jean-Jacques Picart, who opened for him the doors to the fashion world, having introduced Lacroix to Hermes in 1978, where Lacroix worked as an assistant.

In 1981, Jean Patou house became his next stop. Here, together with Jean-Jacques Picart, the designer revamped the house style and developed the fashion tendency for the 80's, a time of rich and extravagant colors. In 1986, their collaborative work received a recognition: they were awarded with "De d'or" (golden thimble). Next year it has been marked with another award: the Oscar for the Best Foreign Designer from the Council of Fashion Designers, New York.

In 1987, the designer decided to create his own brand and left Partou. The success came at once, as next year he received his second Golden Thimble award. Having launched his first Pre-a-Porter collection, he went further and created a line of accessories, and then his first perfume "C'est La Vie" saw the light of the day in 1990.

Lacroix never dropped his passion for art, getting inspired by modernistic masterpieces and historical staging: he created costumes for "Tarnished Angels," "La Ga'te Parisienne" and famous "Carmen" by Bizet, staged at the Nimes arena in 1989.

The 90's were a prolific decade, a time when Lacroix launched his his "Bazar" line, the CL linen and towel collection, the "Jeans" and a silver and semiprecious stone jewelry lines. Even princess Diana wore the dress created by him. Also, in 1995, the designer created costumes for numerous staging, including "Phedre," for which he received a prestigious "Moliere" award. Apart from designing, he illustrated books written by Patrick Mauries and decorated the first new TGV Mediterranean train.

In 2002, Christian Lacroix was chosen Artistic Director of the Florentine fashion house of Emilio Pucci. That's when the designer had to become more careful about his bright creations: "I had to wonder every second whether something was too much or too less," shared Lacroix.

Another star, who loved Christian Lacroix creations, was Madonna: together with Karl Lagerfeld he designed tour wardrobes in 2004, which was counted to be the most expensive tour in her career.

Yet, the house often had hard times and unprofitable projects which led to its selling a privately held US acquisition company, Falic Group this year, the chairman of which was a real fan of Lacroix work: "We love Lacroix. He is the diamond in our company – he will be our Dior." This didn't change the designer plans: "It's just a tag that is changing, I think the inside of the house will not change. I like question marks. I think it is happening in all the houses, because this is a very exciting time for redefining luxury, a new approach to fashion."

Recently, he designed the uniform for Air France, which has nothing in common either with military uniform or with high fashion and is planned to remain in service for at least 10 years. The selection comprised a waist-conscious jacket for women with “very couture pagoda shoulders”, as described Lacroix, slim trousers, redingotes and parkas, all in dark navy and sky blue with red accents.

“I don’t like weird, too mannish or too military looks without femininity,” the designer explained. “The idea of seeing everybody clad the same is not really my cup of tea. I much prefer uniforms letting the personality, self-individuality or character appear.”