He was a symbol of French fashion, the creator of clothes illuminated by the colours of his native Provence and by his extraordinary artistic talents.
But yesterday, the house of Christian Lacroix was reduced to little more than a small trading office as it crumbled under the weight of debts and losses. After six months in administration amid a desperate search for a saviour, Lacroix was forced to abandon haute couture as the Paris Commercial Court approved a restructuring plan.
Lacroix’s dressmaking department was dismantled and his seamstresses — the golden hands, as he called them — were told that they would lose their jobs. “It’s surreal, we can’t believe that it’s stopping, it’s not possible,” said Monika Soszynska, who works in the haute couture accessories unit. “I can’t believe we won’t be doing the next haute couture collection.”
Lacroix, 58, refused to comment on a judgment that underlined his failure to translate fame and popularity into profits.Last year, as recession prompted wealthy fashion followers to cut back their spending, his house, which has never made a profit in 22 years, ran up losses of almost ¤10 million (£9.1 million) on sales of about €30 million. Lacroix owed ¤14 million to suppliers and €30 million to the Falic Group, the duty-free retailer that bought the company in 2005.
For all his sumptuous designs and stunning use of fabrics, the designer could not pay his debts. He pinned his hopes on a takeover offer from Sheikh Hassan bin Ali al-Naimi, the nephew of the ruler of Ajman, the smallest member of the United Arab Emirates. The sheikh pledged ¤100 million, but when the deadline for the bid arrived last week, he could not produce a guarantee to fund the project. An offer from the French Bernard Krief Consulting also failed, leaving judges with little option but to accept the restructuring plan put forward by Falic. It involves cutting the workforce of 124 to 11 to oversee licensing contracts for accessories and perfumes.
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Nicolas Topiol, Lacroix’s chief executive, had feared liquidation. “I feel a little relieved,” he said, holding out hope that someone could step in to restore Lacroix to its former glory.
His optimism was not shared by Nadia Schooppe, a dressmaker. “I didn’t think it would finish like that,” she said. “I can’t understand how a house like Lacroix cannot draw buyers.”
Fashion industry analysts said that Lacroix’s commercial demise illustrated a deeper malaise among French couturiers, whose financial difficulties have been exacerbated by the crisis.