March 1, 2012 |
Almost time for another round on the runway with Lanvin, and this one will be rather poignant, with a special post show party being held in honour of Alber’s 10th year at the helm of the luxury French house. We’ve somehow erased memories of the almost fully defunct brand he arrived at all those years ago. WWD’S European Editor Miles Socha has marked the decade since this transformation began, with a special interview in which Elbaz modestly claims he’s had ‘no proudest achievements’, before explaining ‘every morning at 9am I go home’. Guess we could say the same…though it’s more of a general confusion as to where we live…have often spent a good (slightly hungover) five minutes trying to jam house keys into 10 Towers entrance. Enough about us, it’s all about Alber, and we should really be onto his most amazing moments over the years! Bare with us while we ramble…theres been many.
At the time of the brands re-birth Andre Leon Talley remarked ‘the debut of Alber Elbaz at that house was an elegant reality check- we could practically hear a crack of thunder over the Petit Palais!’ Then in 03 Kate Moss lit the touch paper of celebrity fandom by wearing ‘that dress’, and the brand exploded into a wider public consciousness, allowing the designer to continue describing his darkly sensual woman season after season. Incongruously, he’s displayed his great sense of humour over the years, to the effect that when he takes that bow, we’d rather like to run and give him a big squeeze. The most recent example being the brands incredible A/W 11 video campaign, in which he accompanies supers Elson and Zimmerman, for a ‘breakitdown’ moment, to the pounding sounds of Pitbull. Albers significance has been well noted over the years, winning International Designer of the year in 05 at the CFDA’S, and obtaining a Legion d’honneur in 07. But our favourite seal of approval comes courtesy of Barneys Simon Doonan, who’s described his designs as being ‘like crack’! Need anything more be said?? Congratulations Alber- long may you reign!
by Vincent Levy
