The name of not only an icon but a humble human that left this world too early. Alber Elbaz, born in Casablanca, Morocco, and raised in Israel from the age of one. Elbaz changed the way of fashion in such a subtle yet dramatic way by designing for comfort.
“We designers, we started as countries, asking: ‘What do women want? What do women need? What can I do for a woman to make her life better and easier? How can I make a woman more beautiful?” We are creative directors, so we have to create, but mostly direct. And now, we have become image-matters, creating a buzz, making sure that it looks good in the pictures. The screen has to scream, baby. That’s the rule. Loudness is the new cool, and not only in fashion, you know. I prefer whispering” were the words said by the man who. Ms. Portman once referred to him as the “Ultimate fashion philosopher-mentor.”
The way he designed through comfort and needs is the hope I have for young designers today. His newest project, AZ Factory, is based on making clothes for solving women’s problems, forgetting about season or size, using technology for beauty.
His passing due to COVID-19 on April 24th in Paris, France, was such a tragedy that forty-five of the top fashion houses and designers decided to put rivalry aside and dedicate the Grande Finale of Paris Fashion Week for the first time, to Elbaz. Designers like Raf Simons, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Rick Owens, Virgil Abloh, Christopher John Rogers, Gucci’s Alessandro Michele, Fendi’s Kim Jones, and many more attended and participated in the “Love Brings Love” tribute to Elbaz.
In the forty-ninth minute, the final minute of the tribute, a cheerful song plays while the looks are displayed. If you watch the amazing runway, you will say looks from Versace to Commes Des Garcons. Models dance, and the crowd claps with joy. I believe I am not the only one that cried at that second. The iconic Anna Wintour said that “Alber always thought of fashion as an embrace of life at its best.”
His legacy for rejuvenating one of the oldest fashion houses, Lavian, and determining that being sexy and comfortable at the same time is truly accomplishable. His love and joy infected the industry so much that he made history on October 5th.
The late designer truly impacted my way of seeing the industry. How did he impact you?
Words and Graphics by Alessia Giha.