Christian Lacroix says that he feels "like a young adult”
Christian Lacroix feels like a young man
The legendary couturier - who has dressed a variety of women including Kirsten Dunst, Jennifer Aniston and Jane Seymour - attributes to working “with young people” to maintaining his sense of youth.
While talking to Daniel Roseberry - the 36-year-old creative director for couture house Schiaparelli- for Interview magazine, the 70-year-old designer said: “I’m 70 years old, but I still feel like a young adult. I work with young people much more than people from my generation, and they’re all so fascinated and thrilled with the ’80s and ’90s. When I was a teenager in the ’60s and ’70s, I wore everything from the flea market—from the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s. Evolving that way is an oedipal thing. We all have a special feeling for whatever our mom’s generation was wearing. The ’80s and ’90s were a tacky, ugly period for me. But I was totally in the game at that time.”
Christian - who began his own haute couture house in 1987, which went bust in 2009 - admitted to being “nervous” to discuss trends as opposed to his slower creations.
He said: “I’m nervous because I’m out of fashion. This weekend I had to look at what is happening now. I know couture much better than ready-to-wear, but I was quite amazed by a lot of things. My very first wish was to be a stage designer. That’s why I was totally suited to the ’80s, which was so theatrical. I admire you—to live and to play this game nowadays is not easy.”
The former Emilio Pucci creative director “was disillusioned” with the fashion industry and its quest for profit when he was in his 30s and 40s.
Christian said: “I was disillusioned. Really. I was never in the right place. I never had the idea I should have had. I always listened to my gut, but I felt so alone, especially in a group like LVMH. When I had lunch with [LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chairman] Bernard Arnault, it was, “Oh, you are such a wonderful poet, but you are such a poor businessman.” He was totally thrilled with the next generation of designers, genius designers, who were interested in making money. Alexander McQueen wanted to buy stocks after their first meeting. Making money was not my thing. When Versace or Dolce and Gabbana were on yachts during the summer, I was in the south with my friends, doing normal things—drinking, dancing, going night-clubbing. But I felt reassured when I saw people crying at the end of my shows because I wanted them to cry with me.”
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