Spring Awakenings by Christian Lacroix

The magnificently talented designer and couturier Christian Lacroix has filed for the French version of Chapter 11, having been hit hard by the current financial crisis which is expectedly affecting the luxury sector all across the globe ( are people really still buying $3,000 shoes?). If I could bail him out I would, because the design genius of Christian Lacroix never ceases to amaze me, particularly his profound love and understanding of color. Every one of Lacroix's elaborately styled collections is filled with glorious fabrics and accessories in eye-popping color combinations and contrasts so rich that they have redhead written all over. It reminds me of a blindingly colorful collage of fashion magazine cut-outs, and ironically I can't think of a better mood brightener than looking at some very pretty images from Lacroix's Spring 2009 Couture collection. Let's hope it won't be his last......
Photos by Marcio Madeira, borrowed from style.com