Frocks That Can Shock

One of the most talked about red carpet outfits came from the studio of a highly talented designer in Burnley.

- Mairead Mahon

IT was the dress that set tongues wagging with its tissue-thin drape of diaphanous material leaving very little to the imagination. Television presenter, model and former WAG Lizzie Cundy arrived on the red carpet of an awards night at London’s Grosvenor House in an outfit that had the paparazzi in a flashgun frenzy.

The next day’s national newspapers were full of comment about the daring dress complete with pictures, of course. What many of us didn’t know at the time was this creation was the work of a highly-talented designer from Burnley.

Designs from the Lancashire studio of CC Couture have sashayed down the London catwalk, celebrities have been spotted wearing them and they have appeared in that bible of all things fashion, Vogue. But possibly nothing had quite so much impact on the career of Claudia Croazzo than that one see-through frock.

Quite an achievement when you discover that Claudia is just 24 and that her company – the CC comes her initials – was only founded in February of last year.

But this young woman knew she wanted to be a fashion designer from an early age and, as you can tell from her name, she has the natural advantage of family heritage that combines the innate sense of Italian style with Lancashire determination.

‘Yes, that’s definitely been an advantage,’ she says. ‘The Italian side of the family are based in the north of Italy – it’s where the drink Grappa is made – and I visit them several times a year, so it’s easy to absorb their sense of style. And, of course, Lancashire is home, where it’s just as easy to absorb commonsense and determination.’