Opera affecting Lacroix-Carmen

As we all know, Christian Lacroix is a Opera and musical lovers, in his official website , he as mentioned that Carmen is the first women he fall in love with, thus, let us see what Carmen is , and how this opera affect his fashion collection...

Carmen


Carmen is reputed to be the most famous opera in the world. It is certainly one of the best-loved of all operas. This musical drama of passion, betrayal and revenge was first performed in Paris in 1875.
The action takes place in Seville, Spain, in the 1820s. Don José, who was training for the priesthood, killed a man in a quarrel and has had to enlist in the army in Seville. His mother and Micaëla, the woman who loves and hopes to marry him, have followed him to the south and live in a village near the city. Don José falls for Carmen, a gypsy. After a fight in the cigarette factory where she works, Carmen is arrested. Don José allows her to escape, for which he is himself imprisoned. On his release, Carmen persuades him not to return to his barracks but to join her and her smuggler friends.
Carmen's interest in Don José soon fades: she is attracted to the bullfighter Escamillo. They start to fight a duel. Micaëla arrives and implores Don José to return to his dying mother. In his absence, Carmen goes off with Escamillo. She joins him, in the procession before his bullfight. Ignoring warnings, Carmen waits for Don José who is in the crowd. He pleads her to return to him and when she rejects him he kills her.A gripping story and one that is very suitable for the memorable music that Bizet composed in its honour. Amongst the many great songs in this work is the one that is arguably the most famous opera song of all time – "Toréador!"


Carmen opera-by Royal Opera House
(ref: http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/tv/carmen/)





We can see that the costume of Carmen (the gypys) are rather different than that in La Traviata (in the previous post)..

It is because of the time different, La Traviata is in 19th centery, at the higher class society in Paris , the gypsy there are the entertainer/dancer of the nobles. But carnmen is in the 18th centery a cigarette factory worker in Seville. Thus the costum between are rather different...

For the costum in Carmen:

From the above, we can see that the costume of carmen are in lower chroma, and rather a shaded colour, like the wine red, brown, khaki, mustard yellow and black....
Also, it is using monochromatic scheme, which they are in the same hue but with different chroma and value...

It gives a hamony feeling, at the same time not very attractive, that why it is the clothes of a middle or even a lower- class people...

We can also see Lacroix using these principle and colour scheme in his collection:

Fall Haute Couture 2007

Fall Haute Couture 2007

From the above, we can see Lacroix also the monochromatic in his collection, and also he use the colour in lower chroma but different hue to make a harmony feeling...Wine red and black, which is the main idendity of Carmen's costumelso used in his collection, so , we can see how Carmen, the women that he fist fall in love with, influence his design collection..