"This is not a retrospective, but my own look at the costume collections of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, from which I chose pieces from all eras, some never before exhibited. I chose those that were most inspiring, those that best told the story of fashion that I would have wanted to tell if I were the museum curator that I intended to be when I was a student.
"My twenty years in the fashion business are another way of telling this story, and I selected the strongest designs from the haute couture collections of the Maison Lacroix between 1987 and 2007, then arranged them according to themes-black and white, color, flowers, ethnic styles, and so forth-and linked them with pieces from the museum collection." -Christian Lacroix
Christian Lacroix is one of the most inventive and admired fasion designers in the world. He is also incredibly well-versed in fashion history, and he brings that expertise to bear in this delightful imaginary museum of historic and contemporary fasion. Each featured piece-whether from the museum's collection or the Maison Lacroix-is distinguished by its cut, its detail, its color, and its texture; and the pieces are juxtaposed and photographed in a way that emphasizes their relationship across the centuries.
Patrick Mauries is the author of numerous books, including Cabinets of Curiosities. Olivier Saillard is a fashion historian and curator at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris.
"This is not a retrospective, but my own look at the costume collections of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, from which I chose pieces from all eras, some never before exhibited. I chose those that were most inspiring, those that best told the story of fashion that I would have wanted to tell if I were the museum curator that I intended to be when I was a student.
"My twenty years in the fashion business are another way of telling this story, and I selected the strongest designs from the haute couture collections of the Maison Lacroix between 1987 and 2007, then arranged them according to themes-black and white, color, flowers, ethnic styles, and so forth-and linked them with pieces from the museum collection." -Christian Lacroix
Christian Lacroix is one of the most inventive and admired fasion designers in the world. He is also incredibly well-versed in fashion history, and he brings that expertise to bear in this delightful imaginary museum of historic and contemporary fasion. Each featured piece-whether from the museum's collection or the Maison Lacroix-is distinguished by its cut, its detail, its color, and its texture; and the pieces are juxtaposed and photographed in a way that emphasizes their relationship across the centuries.
Patrick Mauries is the author of numerous books, including Cabinets of Curiosities. Olivier Saillard is a fashion historian and curator at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris.