April 5, 2022 |
Alber Elbaz was peerless. Genuinely beloved by all who crossed his path, his warmth, kindness and immense heart flowed through his every endeavour. Generous with his wit and wisdom and philanthropic with his skill, he was an expert storyteller and one of few designers who could truly translate emotion into cloth, never once sacrificing modernity. He understood elegance and liberty, emphasising the needs of women by placing power in her femininity and sense of self worth. Unsurprisingly his final project, launched in 2019, AZ Factory was an inclusive and forward-thinking laboratory designed for women of every shape and size. Anchored in the highest disciplines of style and savoir-faire, it blended traditional craftsmanship with trailblazing applications and technology for a joyful reimagining of the fashion sphere.
Following his 2015 departure from a 14-year tenure as creative director at Lanvin, Elbaz’s debut AZ instalment was the comeback to end all comebacks. But the venture came to a sudden and saddening halt when the Moroccan designer died of Covid-19 at age 59, last April.
Now, AZ Factory is back. Carrying his memory into the future, the effervescent legacy of the late Elbaz is launching a new initiative series called Amigos, with the aim of reflecting its ardent relationship with the guests invited to join in on co-creating innovative product stories. It’s a bid to offer a new perspective on the fashion of today, driven by the vision of diverse individuals with varying viewpoints, rather than sticking to the status quo of heritage houses.
This is where Thebe Magugu, the 2019 LVMH Prize winner and the first African designer to take home the prize, comes into play as he has been selected as the first AZ Factory Amigo. Aptly dubbed, Intersection, the resulting collection demonstrates a desire to bridge common values, a shared passion and an inclusive vision of what fashion could and should be.
Despite the fact that Magugu never met Elbaz, his appointment was seemingly serendipitous after he fell fluidly into place among the 44 designers elected to take part in the “Love Brings Love” Elbaz tribute show at Paris Fashion Week last October.
Following five primary narratives in sequence, Story One begins as the grand welcoming of the Amigos endeavour with a desire to do things differently, whilst always keeping it fun – layered with one’s own personal experiences. Story Two is its genesis. Magugu departed from his usual systematic way of working to embrace a more free-flowing technique. Gently juxtaposed between the preferences of either party, precise pieces were draped and tweaked directly on mannequins, encouraging error, spontaneity and emotion. Encapsulating the key pillars of both Magugu and AZ’s work – craftsmanship and storytelling – every garment transcribes memories for future generations.
Story Three begs the question, “What if Africa were the birthplace of couture?” The answer? Africa, which has often been overlooked and excluded from conversations around luxury, was placed at the centre of the project combining nu-Africa aesthetics and the principles of couture with AZ’s own creative language. “I think right now the conversation should be that couture can be for more than one type of person,” Magugu stated in a press release.
The “intersection of aesthetics and functionality” defines Story Four. Magugu wholeheartedly believes that beauty should not be uncomfortable, and comfort should not be an aesthetic compromise. As such, he emphasises a laid back sophistication that is uniquely his, with AZ’s athletic fundamentals coming through. Think a Makoti bridal look made from figure-skimming AnatoKnit technology, the balloon shape of a performance nylon bomber jacket and a water-repellent cotton trench.
Finally, the essential value of bringing everyone along for the ride came into play for Story Five. Given full freedom, Paris-based Franco Algerian artist Chafik Cheriet, developed animal kingdom-inspired prints initially intended for a project Elbaz had been pursuing. Having gone unused, Thebe felt drawn to the rediscovered prints because of the joyful, nostalgic reminders they provided him. In the end, Amigos resulted in a deeply emotional and authentically collaborative story for all women, beautifully hybrid in its formulation.
Set to be released in two drops, first in June and later in September, the collection will be available for purchase from AZ Factory’s e-commerce site and via department retailers such as Net-a-Porter, Farfetch and more. Don’t miss out!
Photography by Stephane Gallois.
