It’s not easy stepping into someone else’s shoes, especially if that person is the namesake of the company that you work for. Sacha Walckhoff worked at the House of Christian Lacroix under the man himself for over 17 years, and when monsieur Lacroix left in 2009 he became the creative director. Taking over the reins and transforming the fashion powerhouse from financial ruin to a successful lifestyle company is a seriously impressive achievement. Sacha realised that as beautiful as the couture fashion was it couldn’t turn a profit, so he developed the brand as a licensing operation, working with manufacturing & distribution partners. Today the Christian Lacroix name spans many product lines including; soft furnishings, luxury stationery, and most recently a stunning tabletop collection created with prestigious porcelain makes Vista Alegre. The LuxPad finds out more about the fashion guru-cum-business mogul who has taken the Christian Lacroix brand firmly into the future with our latest exclusive interview…
What first inspired you to get involved with the fashion industry?
My education, I was brought up in a creative environment…
After Christian Lacroix left the house, did you find it difficult to carry on the brands signature style without him?
At the very beginning it was …not anymore!
How do you remain faithful to the Christian Lacroix ethos and style, is that important to you?
For Lacroix, my strategy is to use the amazing patrimony of the House in a modern and efficient way without losing the emotion and the idea of luxury attached to the brand. As far as my personal style is concerned I am a guy who loves to find the right balance between minimalism and exuberance and adding a small “je ne sais quoi ” which is so French and unique!
The latest collection of tableware is stunning, how did it come about and what was the most difficult part of the process?
Thank you very much. I wanted to do something like that for a long time…. so I had many ideas and the difficult thing was to make a selection among them… Thanks to the skill of Vista Alegre, the process went very well and we could achieve this first collaboration in a very short amount of time.
Who or what is your main creative inspiration and why?
Anything might be part of my inspiration… there are no fences as far as imagination is concerned.
Was it hard to go from working in fashion for over 20 years to being creative director of mainly a home line?
Nothing is hard when you are lucky enough to have such a proposal …learning keeps you alive …and young minded too!
Is it difficult working with multiple partner companies for different lines, e.g. Designers Guild for soft furnishings, Libretto for stationery?
On the contrary, it forces you to be smarter, quicker minded and , an idea leading to another, it gives you various options to solve problems. So it is a kind of win-win situation.
What is your favourite ever piece from Christian Lacroix Maison and why?
Right now, I love our tea cup from our “Butterfly parade” collection… it is made out the finest china …it is almost transparent, light as the wings of the butterflies which are painted on it… this is, fun , simple and pure luxury… try it , you will understand what I mean!
What are you top three tips for styling an interior?
As Diana Vreeland used to say “The eye must travel!” so the composition of a room must conduct your eye from one point to the other… in a gentle way… and you should feel happy, relaxed at the end of this “mini trip” around the room… This is only one tip but you do not need other ones if you can achieve this first one!
What are your top trend predictions for home fashion this year and which trends will you be avoiding?
“Home Decoristas” will be trendier than “Fashionistas” in the future! Fashion trends are so last year… It is more important to have the right cushion nowadays than to have the right dress!!!
If you had a day off right now what would you be doing?
Well I am on an amazing island in Sweden, right now, at “The Ladfabriken “one of my favourite places in the world and this is my first day of holidays since a long time… and I am answering your questions… So this is the perfect answer to your question!
Why do you think so many fashion houses have moved into interior collections, and do you think it is a trend set to continue?
As I said Home decor is the new trend… The thing is that Fashion is not Deco and you have to understand how to travel from one to the other….
What’s next for the house, and where do you see it in ten years time?
We will present new collections in tableware, Home Decor and Lifestyle in September. We also have a new partner in Menswear, the Italian company Lubiam. So we are very busy at the moment.
I am like cats, 10 years is a century to me!
Shop the look with the Christian Lacroix collection available at Amara now, including the new Tales of Porcelain range.
