Perhaps all male designers who have spent years creating clothes for women reach a point where they suddenly think: OK, so what about me? What do I wear? Earlier in the day, Karl Lagerfeld had sent out a number of cool men's suits and sweaters for Chanel (though it seems that those clothes were destined for the runway only). Christian Lacroix, on the other hand, is intent on making menswear a crucial part of his label, which isn't a bad thing: The Savile Row-goes-Rive Gauche suits, bright, exotically patterned shirts, and safari bomber jackets he showed were pretty darn snappy.
It's not all about personal satisfaction, though. Nowadays, designers have to multitask like crazy, turning their hand to all the various product categories that compose your average multinational luxury brand. That's why Lacroix put such an emphasis on accessories this season. There were vertiginously high sparkly disco sandals, gargantuan rhinestone brooches pinned hither and thither, and quite an array of bags, most of which came in his trademark textiles, such as toile du Jouy, or made-for-Ibiza painterly swirls and splodges.
All this aside, a designer still has to be able to deliver on the fashion front. The best pieces in Lacroix's show were the little fitted jackets, which have emerged as the kind of piece that everyone is going to want. His came in crisp black and white toile du Jouy, passementerie-embroidered blue silk, and a nubbly white, turquoise, and black tweed. He also showed a few in a slightly oversized, borrowed-from-the-boys style, which would be perfect thrown over his white broderie anglaise gypsy skirts.
