Christian Lacroix: Costumier

How does a great couturier dress the stage? How does a magician of colours, a lover of shimmering fabrics, a sculptor of shapes and volumes, an alchemist of laces, braids, ruches and other frivolities transform artists by giving their dress to the characters of choreographic works, lyrical and theatrical performances performed on the biggest national and international stages?

For more than twenty years, even before the creation of his fashion house, Christian Lacroix has been working with constant happiness behind the scenes of theatre workshops, combining the science of haute couture technique and artisanal know-how, tips and tricks of the stage, respect for the works and personal sensitivity.

Christian Lacroix likes to evoke his first steps in sewing, while from his early years, returning from the theatre, he reinterpreted the costumes he had just seen on the set.

As an echo to this initial vocation, the Center national du costume de scène is organizing the first major event around the work of Christian Lacroix for the show.

This exhibition presents more than 200 costumes and models of costumes created by Christian Lacroix and performed in specialized sewing workshops in the performing arts. A panorama of more than twenty-five ballet, theatre and opera productions, among which:

• For the ballet: “Gaité parisienne”, choreography by Mikhaïl Barysnikov for the American Ballet Theatre in New York; “Les Anges ternis”, choreography by Karole Armitage; “Shéhérazade”, choreography by Blanca Li for the Opéra national de Paris; “Cinderella” at the Vienna Opera; “La Valse des bonbons”, for Austrian television.
• For the theatre: “Chantecler” , directed by Jean-Luc Tardieu for the Maison de la Culture in Nantes; “Otello et Phèdre”, two productions by Anne Delbée for the Théâtre 14 and the Comédie-Française in Paris; “Les Caprices de Marianne”, directed by Lambert Wilson at the Bouffes du Nord.
• For the opera: “Carmen” , directed by Antoine Bourseiller at the Arènes de Nîmes; “Cosi fan tutte”, “Il Re pastore”, “Eliogabalo”, three operas directed by Vincent Boussard for the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels.

Images courtesy of Centre National du Costume de Scene