Christian Lacroix Fall 1998 Top

Asked to name the most influential items of clothing across the 20th century, you can guarantee every fashion editor would name Christian Lacroix’s bejewelled cross top in their Top 10. For the Fall 1988 Couture collection, Lacroix was inspired by his upbringing in Arles, France, alongside the aesthetics of antique French draperies, Roman and early-Christian documents, ecclesiastical art and Byzantine religious masterpieces. Many garments were embellished by master of embroidery Francois Lesage. The stand-out piece from this collection was a black blouse adorned with a crucifix encrusted with jewels and glittering embroidery. This piece appeared on the cover of American Vogue in November 1988, the first issue produced under newly appointed Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintor. Famously, Wintour was not a fan of the skirt that it was paired with on the catwalk; a stroke of luck as it didn’t fit Bercu. Paired with a laid-back pair of Guess jeans on model Michaela Bercu, the image challenged the formal ideas of high-fashion that until then had been the status quo. It caused uproar throughout the fashion industry and signalled a changing point in the relationship between high/low, luxury/street fashion. In 2018, Maison Lacroix loaned this top to The Met for its “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” exhibition. This era-defining piece of clothing was reissued for Lacroix’s Fall 1998 pret-a-porter collection, hailed as “the world’s fanciest t-shirt”.

This top is tailored from black cotton to a slouchy, long-sleeve silhouette. Lacroix’s eye-for-detail can be seen in the wide boat-neckline which adds an elegance to the laid-back silhouette. It is cut for a laid-back relaxed fit with slightly cropped sleeves, it is such an easy piece to pair with jeans (like the Vogue cover) or to elevate with a huge skirt. Contrasted against a deep black background, the adornment really pops; pearlescent, turquoise, ruby red, amethyst purple, sapphire blue, fuchsia, pale blue and citrine yellow jewels are enveloped in glistening gold thread and set against a gold metallic background to create a cross formation. This iconic detail is highly reminiscent of Lacroix’s opulent, eclectic collections of jewellery that he began designing in the 1980s and that have become synonymous with the iconic French fashion house.

• Christian Lacroix Fall 1998 • Bejewelled cross embellishment • Black cotton • Long-sleeves • Boat neckline • Made in Italy

Fabric: 100% Cotton
Size on Label: French size 42, UK 14, US 10
Stretch: No
Care: Dry clean only
Condition: Excellent condition

Bust: 81 cm (32 inch)
Waist: 71 cm (28 inch)
Length (shoulder to front bottom hem): 89 cm (35 inch)
Bottom hem: 69 cm (27 inch)