>> Just when it looked like the Lacroix saga might be nearing its end — not so fast. A final decision on new ownership, which was first supposed to be made October 27 and was later postponed to yesterday, has once again been put off until Dec. 1, partially because the sheikh frontrunner, who made a $100 million offer in October, "could not show the documentation certifying the funds needed for the acquisition were available" ahead of yesterday's tribunal, according to judicial administrator Regis Valliot.

“We are still hopeful that any of the plans can be finalized. The Ajman offer remains our preference,” Nicolas Topiol, Lacroix's CEO, told WWD. Same goes for Christian Lacroix: “I remain confident in the sheik’s will.”

And if the sheikh doesn't give proof of finances? »

>> Decision on Christian Lacroix Delayed —Christian Lacroix recently said it would be a relief to have a decision on his company's fate, but it seems that luck is still not with him.  The French tribunal which was scheduled to make a decision today on Emirati sheikh al-Naimi's $100 million offer for the brand adjourned hearings, citing the need for an economic recovery plan to be finalized before a decision could be made.  The court will reconvene for another review Nov. 17, and a final decision is expected at a later date. [AFP]

>> According to Christian Lacroix, a French commercial court tribunal will review all bids on his brand and make a decision on its fate tomorrow, Oct. 27.  He recently told Filep Motwary: "[Current owner the Falic Group] submitted [a bid], some other financial people did too, and I chose to give my support and signature to the Sheikh of Ajman who seems to be the strongest solution. We'll see. But if we win, it will be time for a new rebirth and to work for real."

The sheikh has already gone on record with plans to diversify Lacroix's business, if given the go-ahead:

"The idea is not to focus on fashion by itself. We are discussing different activities in leisure . . . private jets, hotels, high-quality yachts, palaces and interior decoration. We will focus on very exclusive areas and don’t want to sell his name cheap in the market.  Christian Lacroix is one of the lords of fashion design in the world . . . but, on another side, as a businessman he has a lot of problems. We will run it better commercially."

>> Christian Lacroix was missed at Paris Fashion Week, but it sounds like he could be back before long — owner Falic Group has concluded a deal to sell Lacroix's label to bidder Al Hassan bin Ali Al-Nuami.  Although financial terms could not be learned, it is understood that the designer would become a minority shareholder in the company under the proposed deal.

The offer presented to the commercial court in Paris — which must still approve the deal — was made "in partnership" with Lacroix, according to a statement from the Ajman sheikh's lawyers. The sheikh pledged to continue the couture operations and ready-to-wear businesses, according to the brand's administrator, who expects the offer to be approved: "The offer has been formally lodged. It fulfils perfectly all the necessary criteria concerning maintaining the company's business, safeguarding jobs and assuming debt."

The commercial court is due to meet on the offer around October 20, and a decision could be made before the end of October.

>> Paris is minus a Christian Lacroix fashion show this time around — according to his team, this is the first time he hasn't even made a collection — but he may get one good thing out of this Fashion Week: a buyer.

Previous frontrunner Borletti, who was working with Lacroix on a bid, has dropped out because “the conditions for confirming this takeover were not brought together." Now, all eyes are on Sheikh Al Hassan bin Ali Al-Nuami, a nephew of the ruler of the emirate of Ajman, whose offer was deemed "overall very satisfactory" by Lacroix's administrator — he hopes to inject €70 million ($102 million) into the brand and keep all the company’s employees. Lacroix was involved in the talks with the sheikh; the offer involves keeping both ready-to-wear and couture businesses and will be formalized in the next 48 hours.

Yesterday was the deadline for the administrator to receive offers on the house.

>> Right now, Christian Lacroix is playing the waiting game: he has to wait until September, when the courts decide whose bid will be accepted: that of the Italian Borletti group, which would cut more than half of Lacroix's staff but keep the couture business, or that of current Lacroix owners the Falic Group, who have submitted a restructuring plan that calls for 90 percent of the staff to be cut, leaving only administrative workers, and allowing the company to license out Lacroix's name to recoup some of their debt.

Lacroix has said he supports the Borletti bid, but for now, he's been staying in Arles, France, where he grew up.  There's no news of whether he will do a Spring 2010 collection, which he would normally show at the beginning of October, because when Lacroix filed for court protection, the court ordered the Falic Group only had to pay him through this month.  His Fall 2009 couture collection, shown in July, was made up of 24 looks and only happened because everything from the fabrics to the shoes were donated.

So what does his future hold? »

>> Christian Lacroix Will Keep Couture Line If Berlotti Wins Bid —On Monday, Christian Lacroix submitted a joint bid with Italian retailer Berlotti to acquire the Lacroix label; it was deemed most "serious" out of those received.  Although the question of Lacroix's future as a couture-based business remains in the balance until September when a decision is made, Lacroix says the Borletti proposal would keep the couture and licensing business, but also would look to develop a luxury ready-to-wear line. He also added that if the bid is successful, he would become a shareholder in the company. [WWD]

>> Despite early reports last week of an offer on Christian Lacroix by Bernard Krief Consulting, the label's appointed judicial administrator ruled their bid of less than a few million euros "insufficient." Two other offers of a symbolic euro were received by the deadline, but judged "inconsistent," so the forerunner appears to be Italian retailer Borletti, which has stakes in the Printemps and Rinascente department stores and which the administrator says has made "a serious offer."

Borletti envisions keeping 49 of the current 124 Lacroix employees and is said to be backed by Lacroix himself.  But BKC is not stepping down yet, saying it plans to submit an "improved" offer, with the number of jobs retained "around the hundred."

The future may be less couture, more ready-to-wear for Lacroix »

>> A Christian Lacroix spokeswoman wouldn't comment, but reports are floating around that French company Bernard Krief Consulting, which specializes in buying up failing companies, plans to make an offer on Christian Lacroix next week — potentially as early as next Monday. 

Louis Petiet, the company's president, said that he considers Lacroix part of France's "national patrimony" and couldn't bear to "allow it to die."  He added that if the deal goes through, he hopes to multiply Lacroix's sales by five in the next five years.  Petiet declined to go into details about terms of the deal, but Lacroix estimated that the company would need 50m euro for a relaunch.

Bernard Krief Consulting believes it is the only bidder for the company, so hopefully the deal goes through by the end of July; otherwise, Lacroix's owner Falic Group plans to activate a restructuring plan that will reduce the workforce from 124 to 12 and render the operation licensing only.

• Models fees are required in France, so Christian Lacroix chipped in to pay his 10 models 50 euros apiece. Normal couture fees are said to be around 1300 euros per show for new faces — every year of experience earns a "raise" of about 1000 more euros. [Imaginary Socialite]


• Jean Paul Gaultier had a 12-lb dress, Chanel had three seamstresses working on the bride look, and Maison Martin Margiela used 2,000 pen caps for a jacket: it's Fall 2009 couture by the numbers. [The Cut]


• Cathy Horyn yearns for Alessandra Facchinett's Valentino; Of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli's couture, she says: "Frankly I’d be worried about getting too close to one of those prickly, encrusted numbers. You might get a rash." [On the Runway]
Couture clients, a video of Chanel couture in the making »