It is a sad day for couture lovers. One of France’s most talented designers, lauded couture master Christian Lacroix, has reportedly filed for voluntary bankruptcy at the Paris commercial court while his French house seeks to protect itself from its creditors.
Many in the industry had seen this coming and there have been murmurs for awhile now that the house – which recently expanded with a focus on Couture – has been having trouble.
Compounded by the effectives of the economy it seems that the French house, which was established as couture in 1987, had little choices but to file for voluntary bankruptcy. In fact, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Christian Lacroix hasn’t turned a profit since its creation over 20 years ago (last year the house posted a loss of nearly $14 million).
One of France’s preeminent newspapers, Le Figaro, wrote that according to their information, Christian Lacroix was declared insolvent on Friday, May 22. They noted that “the representatives of the employees were informed yesterday evening at a works council. The Commercial Court of Paris will decide next week on a receivership or liquidation [approach].”
Christian Lacroix, owned by French conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton since its beginning in 1987, sold Lacroix to U.S.-based duty free store operator the Falic Group in 2005. Falic is hopeful that they will find a buyer for Lacroix’s eponymous brand. In the meantime, Falic will continue to finance Lacroix and both the house’s ready-to-wear and their couture line are expected to be produced and presented.
Couture Week is coming up in July. Hopefully Falic will deliver on their promise to continue to finance and Lacroix can continue to showcase his exquisite work.
Images courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.
