MILAN (AFP) - French couturier Christian Lacroix announced after unveiling his spring-summer 2006 ready-to-wear collection for Emilio Pucci in Milan that he would no longer design for the iconic Italian brand.
"I would have loved to continue working for Emilio Pucci. For the past three years, it has been a fabulous ride, bringing this house up-to-date," Lacroix said.
"But with the development of the Christian Lacroix label in Paris and my other projects, especially for the stage, it was no longer feasible to do things halfway," he explained.
Laudomia Pucci -- the granddaughter of the Italian marquis who launched the label known for its swirling, colorful prints in the 1960s -- told AFP that the brand "owes much of its current success" to Lacroix.
"We are very grateful to him for the work he has done," she added, however noting that the label needed "someone who will work full-time for the house".
Emilio Pucci is controlled by French luxury goods group LVMH, which asked Lacroix to breathe new life into the brand three years ago.
By leaving Pucci, Lacroix has severed all ties with LVMH, which in January sold his eponymous label -- created in 1987 with the help of chairman Bernard Arnault -- to the Falic Group, the second-largest US duty-free retailer.
The French couturier's contract with Pucci had been due to expire in July. He told reporters that he had made his decision to leave the Italian fashion house "over the summer".
Beyond his work for his own label and Pucci, Lacroix has been active on several fronts, designing costumes for operas and stage plays, renovating hotels and creating the new uniforms for Air France personnel.
Recently, he signed on to redo the interior of France's high-speed TGV trains and to redesign a chain of cinema multiplexes.
"I'm thrilled to be leaving on a high note, with this collection that I adore, and with summer clothes, which correspond perfectly with the Pucci spirit," Lacroix said.
"Working for this house has helped me tremendously on the creative front. It also proved that within the same group, we could create a success story," he said, in an allusion to his conflict with LVMH over how to run his own house.
A source close to the designer said Lacroix opted to leave Pucci out of "moral honesty" vis-a-vis the Falic Group, which has heavily invested in the development of Lacroix's own label.
