Fashion designer Alber Elbaz dies in Paris of Covid-19

Alber Elbaz, the fashion designer whose audacious designs transformed the storied French house Lanvin into an industry darling before his shock ouster in 2015, has died aged 59, the Richemont luxury group said Sunday.

“It was with shock and enormous sadness that I heard of Alber’s sudden passing,” Richemont chairman Johann Rupert said in a statement. No cause of death was given.

The veteran fashion journalist Suzy Menkes, citing Rupert in an Instagram post, said Elbaz “has left this world after a three-week struggle with Covid”.

A company spokeswoman confirmed Elbaz had died from Covid on Saturday, but would not confirm reports he was being treated at the American Hospital in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.

Elbaz, an Israeli born in Morocco (as Albert), restored the lustre to Lanvin during his 14 years at the helm of France’s oldest couture brand, giving classic tailoring a more playful edge.

Hollywood stars including Cate Blanchett and Sienna Miller were devotees, in particular of his svelt black cocktail dresses, and the house flourished financially during his tenure.

“Women are more independent, more daring,” he told L’Express magazine in 2008.

“A dress has to accompany them. They want to move with it, live with it. Movement is essential for me — it’s life.”

‘True pioneer’ 

Instantly recognisable with his oversize round glasses and his penchant for bow ties, Elbaz also earned fans with an affable and ebullient demeanour that set him apart in an industry known for prickly personalities.

After beginning his career with the American designer Geoffrey Beene in New York, he took over at Guy Laroche in 1996 before joining Yves Saint Laurent in 1998 to design ready-to-wear collections for the French master.

In 2001 he was hired by Lanvin shortly after its acquisition by a group of investors led by the Chinese billionaire Shaw-Lan Wang.

Under his guidance, the storied brand refound its lost glamour and Elbaz himself became one of the fashion world’s most respected figures…..read more

 

Source: AFP

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