Ab Fab to Fab Abs: Lacroix

Christian Lacroix’s infatuation with couture and distaste for marketability led the house his house to bankruptcy in 2009. But today, the brand is up and running again, under the direction of the founder’s assistant of 17 years, Sacha Walckhoff. After quietly launching a menswear collection last fashion week, the new director went for a full-blown catwalk show last night—yet one miles away from the former designer’s theatricality. Walckhoff showed simple menswear pieces in a pared-down setting: “It was important to do it here, in the boutique; the space is going through radical renovations, so the walls are still bare—and it’s the idea of a work in progress we wanted to convey,” Walckhoff told Interview after the show.

As for the clothes, they consisted of comfortable suits, basic trousers, and tops. “The aim was to offer something people would actually wear in everyday life—the focus is on the wearer and his daily needs.” Touches of extravaganza, reminiscent of old-school Lacroix, poked through at times: flashes of bare chests under jackets, colorful linings, and crystal-embellished denim pieces. “Of course this is still Lacroix! Old and new, secondhand and luxury. That’ll always be our recipe,” the designer said, smiling.

And there is more: the menswear campaign, as well as the recently launched lingerie line, were entirely shot by Olivier Zahm, Walckhoff said. “He is definitely very straight, and the gaze he places both on men and womenswear is radically different from the one usually found in fashion—which is why I thought he’d be ideal… And he was.”