Fashion Insiders And Fans Remember Alber Elbaz
The sense of warmth, empathy and childlike-wonder he brought to his work will be missed.
Alber Elbaz, the well-loved designer best known for imbuing an ebullient spirit to France's oldest fashion maison Lanvin, succumbed to Covid-19 on Saturday. The Moroccan-born Israeli designer was 59.
An influential figure in the fashion world throughout the early aughts until the mid-2000s, he remained largely under the radar following his exit from Lanvin in 2015, save for collaborations with Tod’s and Le Sportsac.
Alber Elbaz died on April 24 in Paris.
To the delight of fans, he launched AZ Factory earlier this year as a size-inclusive label (pieces range from XXS to XXXL) that parlayed his personal taste for elegant, joyful and beautiful clothes with an aesthetic that's reminiscent of his time at Lanvin.
The line, backed by Swiss luxury group Richemont, revolved around Elbaz's lifetime understanding of what real clothes should be for real woman without being prosaic, as well as his knack for always dancing to his own beat.
AZ Factory, which was launched in January 2021, was backed by Richemont.
Elbaz's formative years in fashion started in New York in the late '80s when he became the right hand man to couturier Geoffrey Beene up until 1996. He moved across the pond to Paris to start his stint at Guy Laroche before being personally handpicked by Yves Saint Laurent to be his heir and to design for the brand's Rive Gauche pret-a-porter line.
Backstage at the Lanvin Spring/Summer 2015 show.
A romantic at heart and a brilliantly intuitive designer, Elbaz was known for his repudiation of fashion's obsession with hype and the breakneck speed it runs on. In a famously quoted acceptance speech at the Fashion Group International in 2015, he shed light on his gentle approach to design.
Elbaz imbued a sense of joy into his work, seen here in Lanvin's Spring/Summer 2010 collection.
“We designers started as couturiers with dreams, with intuitions and with feelings. We started with, ‘What do women want? What do women need? What can I do for women to make their lives better and easier? How can I make a woman more beautiful?’ That is what we used to do," he said.
A look from the Lanvin Fall/Winter 2012 collection.
"Then we became creative directors, so we have to create, but mostly direct. And now we have to become image-makers, making sure it looks good in the pictures. The screen has to scream ‘baby’ – that’s the rule. And loudness is the new thing. Loudness is the new cool, and not only in fashion. I prefer whispering. I think it goes deeper and lasts longer.”
Ahead, some of Elbaz's biggest fans pay tribute to this legendary figure.
"My heart is aching with sadness as I go about my day. I feel blessed to have known and collected his work which serves as a reminder of the genius he was. His clothes were playful and happy and were cut in a way that allowed a woman to be feminine while ensuring carefree comfort. There will never be another one like Alber Elbaz for me."
"Alber Elbaz's work was just so inspiring and beautiful. I had the privilege of working with some of his pieces from Lanvin – such as this piece circa 2007 lensed by Chuando & Frey – and I will never forget how wonderfully constructed they were. He was a giant in the fashion industry, and his passing is a huge loss."
"Alber Elbaz was a unique voice and a kind man. A true lover of his craft and someone who believed fashion was magical, he was respectful of the female body and completely in love with the idea of making women look beautiful and also feel beautiful. His passing leaves an emptiness in fashion and our hearts. We will always remember his kindness and revolutionary mind. Thank you, Alber Elbaz!"
"I am truly saddened by the loss of Alber Elbaz, an amazing talent and creator who certainly made a mark in the fashion world and greatly influenced the way I approach design. I was always excited to see his new collections during his time at Lanvin and have been rooting for and supported his mission behind AZ Factory. He will always be regarded as one of fashion’s great visionaries and I’ll always remember him as the gentle soul of the fashion world."
"Elegant drapery, grosgrain ribbons, and magnificent colours. Alber Elbaz, pushed boundaries in the fashion world, making one question their own comfort level. To wear a Lanvin dress (pictured) was to sign up to the idea of power and femininity but to still have fun. Farewell to a beautiful mind."
"When I was 18, I worked at the now-defunct Lanvin store at Wisma Atria for about a year as a retail associate. It was my first fashion job and my boss allowed me to style the mannequins (pictured) – a task which I took very seriously. I was very specific about wanting to work there. It had to be Lanvin so that I could have the opportunity to dissect Alber Elbaz's pieces. Every piece that looked effortlessly draped or had a strong silhouette had a complicated network of pleating, stitching and pattern making. That man was brilliant. There was a sensitivity to his touch that was and is still rare. Fashion and Lanvin was such an escape for my turbulent teenage years. Thank you and RIP Alber Elbaz."
"There was always a sense of joy and superb elegance in Elbaz’s creations – you could never miss it. He was a very special gift to women’s fashion the same way Yves Saint Laurent was."
"I'm completely devastated. He'll always be remembered for the amazing clothes that he made with technical ferocity, but what's impeccable to me was the unsurmountable amount of joy he brought to fashion. He made us dream and love it, despite the madness of the industry. I've always enjoyed listening to him talk – he was a poet, a philosopher, a great thinker – so much of what he said made sense, and it's obvious that he completely understood women. There's also something child-like about him that I enjoy: the imagination, the warmth, and hope. I missed him when he left Lanvin, and I will miss him forever now."