2009-05-29

Nooooooo!

From news.yahoo.com:
France's US-owned couture house Christian Lacroix SNC has declared insolvency after falling foul of the global crisis, the company said Thursday.

Arguably one of the most exuberant couturiers in Paris, Christian Lacroix SNC said in a statement that the company owned by Falic had declared insolvency before a Paris court due to "the sharp downturn of the luxury market."

The company said it "has filed a voluntary petition with the Tribunal de Commerce de Paris to put itself under the protection of the courts" but intends "to present a continuation plan" and "intends to maintain its business operations throughout the proceedings."

Declaring insolvency is a first step towards bankruptcy protection.

After being bought by the US firm from luxury group LVMH in early 2005, the company launched "an ambitious and costly restructuring plan to reposition the brand offering to higher end collections," terminating ready-to-wear lines and opening two stores in the United States, one in Las Vegas, one in New York.

"Unfortunately, this longterm strategy for repositioning of the brand was dramatically hindered by the current and ongoing world financial and economic crisis which severely hit the luxury sector," the company said.



Christian Lacroix still remains one of my favourite established fashion houses and news of its insolvency greatly saddens me. At the same time, as a commerce student, I can't help but me fascinated by this whole process. Topics like restructuring and brand repositioning fit in perfectly with the courses I will be taking next year. What a terrible case of bad timing! Maybe if the execs at LVMH studied the Austrian business cycle theory instead of following those darn Keynesians, they would have been better prepared... Just sayin`.


Images via style.com

8 comments:

Cruz said...

It's sucha shame. I dunno anything about the commerce side of fashion, but somebody really dropped the ball over at Lacroix to let this happen. :|

corrie said...

Honestly, I'm surprised we haven't seen more of this from the major fashion houses. Hard times all around, but CL will come out on top eventually. And CL, if it makes you feel any better, I'm insolvent too! Damn economy!

thefatandskinnyonfashion said...

yeah this is sad. maybe he will pull it through.

Anonymous said...

it's very sad but i'm sure someone will save hiM!

indigotangerine said...

what! what! it can't be. i'm sure it'll all turn out alright. I doubt Christian Lacroix could ever dissapear out of the fashion world.
-indigo

dust said...

There is this great book "Designer Scam" by Colin McDowell that "blames" C Lacroix and G Versace for the fashion system of today. It's a must-read for anybody who's interest in fashion goes beyond "amazing" and "you look great", and these are not many.......

39th and Broadway said...

Such sad news, everyday from couture to mass market business are failing.

dust- That book sounds fascinating, I'm definitely going to pick it up, and the word "amazing" is part of what is wrong our culture today! ;-)

Sabrina said...

Dust: It should be an interesting read! I hope I can pick it up from the library.