Alber Elbaz was the creative director of Lanvin in Paris from 2001 until 2015, after having done stints at a number of other fashion houses, including Geoffrey Beene, Guy Laroche, and Yves Saint Laurent.
17 Facts About Alber Elbaz
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Alber Elbaz founded the Richemont-backed label AZ Factory in 2019.
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Alber Elbaz's mother, Algeria, was a painter and his father, Meyer, a hairdresser.
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Alber Elbaz's family immigrated to Israel when Elbaz was eight months old and he grew up in the city of Holon.
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Alber Elbaz later enlisted and served as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, and subsequently studied at the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Ramat Gan, Israel.
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Alber Elbaz's mother encouraged Elbaz's early interest in fashion, as he had begun drawing dresses at seven years old, and gave him $800 when he left home for New York City in 1985 to pursue fashion professionally.
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From 1996 until 1998, Alber Elbaz worked for the French house of Guy Laroche as head of pret-a-porter, moving to Paris in 1997 and drawing favorable notice in the fashion press.
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Alber Elbaz held a minority stake in the company of nearly 18 percent.
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Notably, for his fall collection in 2012, the house's 10th anniversary, Alber Elbaz chose ordinary people to feature in Lanvin's promotional campaign, including an 18-year-old musician and an 82-year-old retiree.
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In October 2015, Alber Elbaz announced that he had been let go from Lanvin after disagreements with the company's major shareholder, Shaw-Lan Wang.
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Alber Elbaz complained about the lack of strategy and targeted investment of the company.
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Shortly before he was fired, Alber Elbaz had hired Chemena Kamali from Chloe as women's design director.
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Alber Elbaz collaborated in 2019 with Italian shoemaker Tod's, creating bags and loafers.
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In 2006, Alber Elbaz introduced new packaging for Lanvin, featuring a light forget-me-not blue color, a favorite shade which Lanvin purportedly had seen in a Fra Angelico fresco.
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Alber Elbaz illustrated the song "Lady Jane" in singer-songwriter Mika's extended play Songs for Sorrow.
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Alber Elbaz often spoke of being overweight and how it influenced his designs.
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Alber Elbaz died of COVID-19 on 24 April 2021 at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine in suburban Paris, France.