Stylist Alber Elbaz, who has worked in some of the most famous fashion houses in France, has passed away at the age of 59 in Paris.
His business partner Johann Rupert said Elbaz passed away from Covid. Rupert praised Elbaz's "comprehensive fashion vision".
Since 2001, Elbaz was artistic director at Lanvin, where he was praised for brand renewal, until he was fired in 2015. Recently, he launched his own label, AZ Factory.
Born in Morocco and raised in Israel, Elbaz moved to New York to begin his career in fashion, where he initially worked for stylist Geoffrey Beene. In 1996, he moved to Paris to run Guy Laroche. Elbaz was selected by Yves Saint Laurent to take over responsibility for the Rive Gauche brand, but was fired after the company was taken over by Gucci in 1999.
When Elbaz took over Lanvin, it was a small fashion house focused primarily on men’s clothing. Elbaz revived Lanvin and transformed him to focus primarily on women’s fashion. His outfits were widely praised for the way women felt about them.
Elbaz dresses were favored by Hollywood actresses, including Natalie Portman. Meryl Streep wore one of the designer dresses when she received the Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" in 2012.
"Albert's dresses for Lanvin are the only ones that when I wear them, I feel like myself, or even a better version of her," Streep said in 2015.
In an interview in 2014, Elbaz said his vision was to "make things easier for women."
For his career, Elbaz was awarded some of the most prestigious awards in the field. In 2016, he became a member of the Legion of Honor in France, the country’s most prestigious award.
Sources: BBC, Vogue, WWD
