2006 Christian Lacroix Silk Abstract Print Dress

This is a magnificent example of Christian Lacroix’s exalted evening wear; an archival and extravagant piece from his Ready to Wear (RTW) 2006 spring/summer collection, look 25. It is exceptionally well made with detailed design construction. The slubbed silk is inspired by African block print designs and has a painterly look. The main focus of the colour palette are blues and deep reds on a white background. The bodice has detailed internal construction and is lined in a cotton and silk mix whilst externally showcasing a mastery in draping with a wide waistband and pleating. The dress skirt has many folds and pleats and is longer at the back than the front. There is an underdress in white chiffon silk and the slubbed silk itself is lined in a georgette to ensure that the shape of the dress retains its full look.

The dress does up at the back with a concealed zip and fabric covered poppers. There is a seperate and very elaborate large bow in a different style floral print. The overall look is simply sublime - there was nobody doing work of this quality at ready to wear level in the early noughties and this piece looks as astonishing as it did back then. To finish the look, there is a very long, rectangular double sided scarf that incorporates the design of the dress and a further monochrome abstract print. Altogether there are three print works in this dress.

Condition wise it is excellent and has been well looked after; possibly worn once or twice with no notable flaws. On very close inspection we saw a tiny little mark that is easily hidden in the folds on the rear of the bodice of the dress. The scarf is in excellent condition too save for a few threads of colour bleed which is virtually unnoticeable due to the busy print. It is labelled a size French 40 - this equates in modern sizing to round a UK 10 -12. You can see that is is a slightly loose fit on our model who is a UK size 6 -8. Due to the nature of the design and the fact that there is an internal zip in the corset element of the dress, the sizing is somewhat flexible.

MEASUREMENTS:
BUST - 35 in. (88.9 cm)
WAIST - 29 in. (73.7 cm)
HIP - 40 in. (101.6 cm)
LENGTH - 35 in. (88.9 cm)

SCARF LENGTH - 72 in. (182.9 cm)
SCARF WIDTH - 26 in. (66 cm)

BOW HEIGHT - 17 in. (43.2 cm)
BOW WIDTH - 27 in. (68.6 cm)