Alber Elbaz celebrated his 10-year anniversary at Lanvin last night with a collection of his greatest hits and a show that ended with him, microphone in hand, singing ‘Que Sera, Sera’.
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It all kicked off with a rainbow mini-series of curvy coloured dresses – green, purple, yellow, red, blue, orange, turquoise – sculpted in felted wool, all peplums, pleats and undulating collars.
After that he had a field day with almost every permutation of party dress imaginable. Lanvin Woman doesn’t ‘do’ trousers, she’s all about The Dress. And these came out thick and fast, from body-con dresses embellished with giant gem stones to sophisticated drapes, punchy prints, ruffles, studs, fur, leather, lace… And in the mix a few spontaneous coats cinched with belts that featured a lion’s head the size of a doorknocker.
This was an all-out homage to Lanvin Woman – that most feminine of creatures – whose image he has honed and for whom he has tirelessly created this past decade.
Elbaz is a designer who has always done things his way. Not for him the po-faced show invitation – his came with a doodled self-portrait, wearing his trademark glasses and bowtie and surrounded by scribbled love hearts. Not for him the distant wave at the end of the runway – he likes to bound out and in this case belt out a song, too. And not for him the type of fashion that requires a manual to understand them – his are joyful, effortless, sexy, glamorous and chic; they transcend seasonal fads and ultimately aim to flatter.
Alber, we salute you!
