In an unlikely partnership, struggling French mail order catalogue firm La Redoute has called on haute couturier Christian Lacroix to add a high fashion touch to its range of women's clothes, as well as designing a selection of accessories and homeware items.

"I avoided anything to do with bullfights, Gypsies or the opera as I didn’t want it to look like a caricature of Lacroix," said the designer.

The items, which will be available from mid-July, include a red ruffle trench coat, a silk taffeta dress and a pair of cowboy boots, and there's also handbags, towels, bedlinen, and even a striped armchair and ottoman set. 

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