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Far removed from its heyday of the 50s and 60s, by the early eighties, haute couture was a dying business. However, a young man from the south of France, planning a career as a museum curator would soon turn that world upside down. Lacroix spent several years at Hermes but by 1981 was designing haute couture for Jean Patou. It was fashion executive Jean Jacques Picart who had first spotted his talent. In 1987 Bernard Arnault made a controversial offer to the then 37 year old Lacroix to open his own haute couture house. Lacroix quickly developed an identifiable style: his silhouettes were influenced by the eighteenth century and he showed irreverence towards color, print and decoration. Somehow the king of color even survived the darkest days of 90s minimalism. In the next ten years Lacroix expanded into ready-to-wear, jeans, the popular bazaar line; and home wares

Originally produced by Videofashion in 2008

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