Emirates Woman catches up with Lanvin’s creative genius, Alber Elbaz, as he launches a new accessories collection in honour of his 10-year anniversary.
Congratulations on your 10th year at Lanvin!
What has been the highlight of your time there?
Well firstly I have a good relationship with the House, but I also have the best relationship with Mrs Wang (the owner of Lanvin) who I adore and love. I think she is the main reason that I have stayed at Lanvin all these years. She gave me the freedom to fly and dream and that’s what I am trying to give people around me.
Tell us about your teacher who encouraged your early foray into fashion…
When I was five my mother asked my kindergarten teacher if she should stop me from drawing women and dresses. My teacher told her not to stop me but instead see where it goes. After that I always trailed two bags around with me – one with my schoolbooks and one with my drawings and colouring pencils.
You have created a capsule collection, Happy Les 10 Ans, to celebrate your anniversary at Lanvin, tell us about the inspiration behind the pieces…
Everything in life can inspire you but my biggest source of inspiration is words and stories. They are abstract and I can take them anywhere without a trace. For this capsule collection, we wanted to bring together all the codes and aesthetics that I brought to Lanvin and give happiness to the woman wearing these items.
EW’s senior Art Director, Arezou rocking one of Alber’s anniversary bags.
What kind of woman wears Lanvin?
I love today’s active woman who is very feminine and never burdened by her clothes. I don’t give advice to women when choosing pieces, I just don’t like to see a woman who doesn’t feel good about what she is wearing. I look at a woman’s face and that is the concept that I wanted to work on for the Lanvin A/W12 ad campaign.
Do you eat, breathe and live fashion or go for a work/life balance?
Vacations and I don’t mix very well. Every time I take time off something happens; a broken arm, back injury… I think somebody is trying to tell me something.
Finally, what does the future hold for you and Lanvin?
What will be, will be! It’s like the song that I sang at the end of my last show for all the people in fashion that I love. I wanted to tell them that the future is not sure for anyone. I think the reason that I am still here is because I never feel that I have done my job properly, so with each new collection I have to correct what I have done for the season before.
Read more in the September issue of Emirates Woman out now!
