French fashion house Lacroix goes under

PARIS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A French court ordered fashion house Christian Lacroix to liquidate its custom dressmaking business in a plan that pares the company down to 11 employees.

The Paris Commercial court approved a restructuring plan proposed by Falic Group, which purchased the company in 2005. In the plan, the haute couture business will go, leaving a handful of employees to manage the companies licensing contracts, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

In 22 years of business, Christian Lacroix has never turned a profit, The Times said. But it ran up debts of $21 million to suppliers and $45 million to Falic Group. Last year, it lost $13.6 million on sales of about $45 million, The Times said.

Founder Lacroix declined to comment on the demise of the business that has been a cornerstone of the fashion world for two decades.

Rescue plans, including a possible sale of the company to Sheikh Hassan bin Ali al-Naimi, a nephew to the ruler of United Arab Emirate state Ajman, never materialized.

"I didn't think it would finish like that. I can't understand how a house like Lacroix cannot draw buyers," said dressmaker Nadia Schooppe.