Israeli-American fashion designer Alber Elbaz, who headed Lanvin for fourteen years before being ousted in 2015, has died at the age of 59, the luxury group said on Sunday (April 25). Richemont in a press release.
“It was in shock and with great sadness that I learned of Alber’s sudden passing. (…) He was a man of exceptional warmth. He was very talented, and his singular vision, his sense of beauty and empathy will leave an indelible mark ”, greeted its president, Johann Rupert.
Recognizable by his round figure, his glasses and his eternal bow tie, Alber Elbaz marked the world of fashion with his little cocktail dresses, often black, appreciated by many Hollywood actresses, including Natalie Portman.
Evicted from the Lanvin House
Born in Morocco, he began his career with the American designer Geoffrey Beene before being hired by the fashion house Guy Laroche. He then took over from Yves Saint Laurent for the French couturier’s ready-to-wear line in 1998, before joining Lanvin in 2001.
At its head for fourteen years, he succeeded in the feat of replacing the oldest French fashion house, founded by Jeanne Lanvin in 1889, in the firmament of the fashion world, giving it back success and notoriety. He was ousted in 2015, a brutal departure that caused a stir.
A few years later, he joined forces with the Swiss luxury group Richemont in order to create his own label, AZ Factory.
“Tragic disappearance of Alber Elbaz, great fashion designer and great artist, intensely attached to know-how, wanting innovation of which he understood the full scope and necessity. He had so much talent and also genius. Immense sadness ”, reacted on Twitter the executive president of the Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion, Pascal Morand.