Alber Elbaz On His Triumphant Comeback: ‘I Needed To Fall In Love With Fashion Again’

Alber Elbaz is charming. He has a round face you want to smoosh between your hands, cheeks you want to plant a wet smacker of a kiss on, and a warmth that has you reaching for a hug within yards of him. He’s famously endearing. Which is why he’s able to say, ‘If you find me shit, go ahead, write it,’ knowing that I won’t (find him shit, that is). We're dealing with one of the most loved people in fashion, after all. Even if he’s been operating outside its traditional parameters since being sacked as the creative director of Lanvin in 2015.

We meet at Le Meurice, a five-star hotel in Paris, sat squarely between Musée du Louvre, and Jardin des Tuileries, on the city’s hottest day on record. The opulence of its surrounds is heightened with walls that feel a hundred feet tall, and Versailles-inspired gold-gilded everything. ‘But we could do this in a McDonald’s,’ Elbaz says. ‘Because they have air conditioning.’

Like many things he says throughout this interview, Elbaz’s delivery is deadpan, always with a flippant flick of the wrist. Then he looks you square in the eye, holding your gaze. Then a wide smile spreads across his face, confirming you’re in on the joke, lest, god forbid, you feel left out. Or worse, unhappy.

Incidentally, it is happiness that’s brought Elbaz back into fashion, doing what he does best: designing. He’s here having produced what he says is a ‘one-off’ collection of bags and shoes for luxury Italian brand Tod’s, called ‘Happy Moments.’ For Tod’s, it marks the first of a series of collaborations to be presented throughout the year, in what the brand describes as ‘a new creative approach.’ For Elbaz, it marks a comeback, having skipped several years of shows, watching the fashion industry shift from the sidelines.

Elbaz hasn’t been missing from fashion entirely, more just operating as a free agent since 2015, when he was ousted by Lanvin after 14 years (a decision largely balked at by the fashion press). Between then and now, Elbaz has turned his hand to designing accessories for LeSportsac, collaborated on a fragrance with luxury perfumer Frédéric Malle, and mentored at prestigious design schools. ‘But I did take some time off.’

The time off afforded Elbaz the opportunity to reflect. To heal from what he has described in the past as ‘my tragedy.’ ‘I like fashion, I like fashion people. But after Lanvin, I did not like fashion.’

Elbaz’s idiosyncratic style – the bespectacled, bow-tied embodiment of joie de vivre that feels distinctly French, despite his Moroccan-Israeli roots – transformed Lanvin, a then-defunct Parisian house, when he joined in 2001. He took it from a sleeping beauty to a household name, producing hot-ticket collaborations with H&M, and dressing A-list celebrities including Michelle Obama, Angelina Jolie, Tilda Swinton and Natalie Portman, among others.

In his time out he’s undergone somewhat of a star transformation himself. Today, he’s less ‘bubbly’, more Bond, having swapped his signature formal-but-fun bow-tie for a slinky shawl-scarf. He’s also gone blonde. It’s not, he insists, signalling a personal reinvention. ‘It was just a moment of freedom, to say: “I’m going to try it. If it’s not good, it’s a mistake.” But let’s see first.’

That’s been his approach to re-entering the spotlight with his collaboration with Tod’s. But before that, ‘I needed to fall in love with fashion again.’

To fall back in love with fashion took a lot of time. ‘Because you have to take a few years distance,’ Elbaz explains earnestly. Then he adds a punchline, as he often does: ‘And a lot of lunches. Look at me, I love to eat,’ he says, pushing his belly out, patting it with a laugh. But he looks trim, actually, having committed much of his time off to his personal trainer, Mohammed, trying his hand at tennis. ‘But I ask him not to make me run over the court. I say just throw the ball at me!’ (Well, if the 'mountain' won’t come to Mohammed…)

It was a lunch that led to the Happy Moments collection: a meeting over pasta with Tod’s CEO, Diego Della Valle, whose grandfather founded the company in the 1920s. ‘I didn’t see this as a media buzz,’ he explains of re-entering the fashion cycle, unveiling the first collection in July during couture fashion week. ‘Because if I did, I could’ve done a totally different project. What motivates me is people. When you meet someone you like, you’re willing to… well, not cross the Sahara for them, but do a project. And I liked Diego. So I said. I’ll do this.’ There was one firm caveat: ‘Freedom. That is the most important ingredient for me in any contract. The moment I’m not free, I cannot be creative.’

Freedom for Elbaz, in this instance, means that the collection’s theme of Happy Moments was his idea. What that means, as far as this collaboration goes, is several of Tod’s signature styles, starting with the driving shoe, reinterpreted for six happy-making occasions, from birthdays to weddings. So the shoes are pop-coloured and metallic; they’re bright, photographed beside disco balls and bunnies, and kittens in bow ties, with each moment, on paper, punctuated with an exclamation mark. ‘Ooof!’, Elbaz shouts, theatrically swooning at the thought of so much joy packed into one collection.

Many of these moments are based on his experience as the creative director of Lanvin, observing the reactions of women ecstatic to be swathed in jewel-toned taffeta, and dresses with whimsical motifs (pearl-bordered hearts framing the words ‘YOU’, ‘COOL’, and perhaps tellingly, ‘HELP’). For instance, one of the Tod’s collection’s ‘moments’ is ‘happy to be dancing’. Because ‘I found through my work that whenever a woman felt comfortable in a dress, whatever age or size, she’d be like, “Oh my god, it’s not too big or too small,” and the first thing she would do is a little dance,’ he says, buoyantly shifting in his seat.

Why happiness as the theme for the entire collection? ‘Another lunch. I was having lunch with many friends in fashion, and I always asked, “How are you?” and they were always like, “Ugh, my God!”. And so I asked myself, Why aren’t they happy? So many of them, so unhappy.’

Was this a question he was also asking himself? ‘I asked myself, yes,’ he says, letting the silence sit heavy, like a sinking balloon. Naturally, Elbaz is guarded about giving too much away, tending to circle around a subject, obfuscating with one-liners and comedic gestures. He often compares himself to a clown. ‘People consider me a funny man,’ he acknowledges. ‘But we all know that clowns aren’t always happy people. You work in fashion. I’m sure you understand.’ It is understandable looking at how the fashion industry operates, now a merry-go-round of firings and hirings, wherein ‘couturiers have become creative directors, and creative directors have become influencers’, in Elbaz’s own words. In other words, there’s added pressure on designers to be very public faces of the brands they work for, while producing up to six collections a year. Often more, actually.

Does he miss the designing part? ‘Oh, very much. Very much. I miss the people. I miss the big moments. You know, I’ve never done drugs in my life, because I know I’d be a junkie. What gives me a high is those moments.’

For now, Elbaz can watch the fashion industry from a comfortable distance, dipping a driving-shoe-clad foot in when he pleases. And designing the occasional wedding dress for private clients (‘I’ve designed dresses for 30 brides – 29 are still married!’). ‘I still follow the shows,’ he says. ‘Of course, because I’m excited by many people in fashion. Many of them are friends.’ But he won’t name names, lest he leave anyone out. ‘No, I can’t, I don’t want to upset anyone. I can’t.’ Although he does admit, accidentally as he leaves, ‘I love Phoebe [Philo].’ Another designer we’d be happy to have back. And on that note, he leaves, reminding me that ‘this is just a one-off’. And there’s that smile again. The quiet wink-wink, nudge-nudge as if to say ‘never say never’.

Happy Moments will be available on Tods.com, and in Tod’s boutiques, from the 30th September.