Alber Elbaz, former creative director of the French fashion house Lanvin, has passed away unexpectedly. He was 59 years old.
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Elbaz died in a Paris hospital on Saturday. His death was confirmed by Richemont, the Swiss company with whom Elbaz has only recently started a new fashion label. The fashion designer, who was creative director at Lanvin from 2001 to 2015, is said to have died of Covid-19.
“I have lost not only a colleague, but also a dear friend,” Richemont founder Johann Rupert said in a statement. Alber had a well-deserved reputation as one of the brightest and best-loved figures in the fashion industry. I was always captivated by his intelligence, sensitivity, generosity and unbridled creativity, ”said Rupert. “He was a man of exceptional warmth and talent, and his unique vision, sense of beauty and empathy left an indelible mark.”
Elbaz was born in 1961 in Casablanca, the youngest son of an artist and hairdresser, but grew up in Tel Aviv. After his compulsory army training, he went to study fashion and then moved to New York. In 1989 he was able to work for designer Geoffrey Beene, he would stay there for seven years.
He then went on to work for Guy Laroche for two years, before being offered the position of chief designer at Yves Saint Laurent. Unfortunately, the balloon did not go up, because the house was bought by the Gucci Group not much later and it was up to designer Tom Ford.
Elbaz temporarily disappeared from Paris until Lanvin brought him in in 2001. In barely four seasons he would tilt the declining figures and make the luxury home relevant again. His departure in 2015 therefore came as a surprise. After a break of several years, he made it in 2019 plans to start their own fashion label, along with Richemont. The first collection was presented in January.
– In 2015, at the Lanvin expo in Paris. Photo: REUTERS
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