[Editor’s note: With the news that STL has acquired the Christian Lacroix brand, we’re looking back at the designer’s spring 1996 couture show. Presented in Paris on January 25, 1996, it has been digitized as part of Vogue Runway’s ongoing efforts to document the history of fashion shows.]
Mona Patel broke the internet when she wore vintage Christian Lacroix to the 2024 British Fashion Awards. It was the third or so archival sighting in a short time, and it confirmed a Lacroix revival of sorts. The designer’s pieces are hard to come by, and this one – featuring a jeweled corset from Mr. Pearl, a frequent collaborator of Lacroix – was a treasure, both for its rarity and because Patel looked as if she had been immersed in a precious liquid metal. a kind of pink silver), transformed into a metallurgist’s dream girl.
The look was worn on the catwalk by Honor Fraser, the aristocratic English model (and cousin of Stella Tennant) who looked as if Fragonard could have painted her. It featured Lacroix’s signature ottoman (which was praised by reviewers). In the designer’s hands, these airy fabric soufflés (a dish fittingly dating from the 18th century) looked like dream stuff.
“Everything was tailor-made for an enchanting sorceress of a fable,” wrote The New York TimesAmy Spindler in her review of the show. There may have been fantasy in the air, but more than half of the collection landed at or just below the knee, making these songs perfect for the charity and cocktail circuit. Grand entrances were not forgotten, however. Floating panels of chiffon added drama, as did brilliantly colored shawls that were pulled back to reveal beautiful slip dresses. Journalists at the time commented on the return of the designer’s signature ottoman; it was used in a number of endings, including the Fraser/Patel dress and the caged bride. His headdress was embroidered by François Lesage, who was dear to Lacroix; the designer called Lesage a ‘couture grandfather’ [to whom] I owe so much.”