What started as a mother - Jeanne Lanvin - creating clothing for her little daughter has transformed into the synonymity of French Haute Couture. Lanvin is the third oldest fashion house still in operation today and has been worn by the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Natalie Portman, Roona Mara, Michelle Williams and the list goes on. So, it's only fitting that such a storied fashion house be headed by non other than a Shenkar College of Engineering and Design alumnus. That alumnus is the exceptionally talented Alber Elbaz. Elbaz headed the fashion house from 2001-2015, helping to revive the brand and make it one of the most sought-after luxury brands in the industry.
For those not familiar with the whimsical and charming Elbaz, he was born in Casablanca, Morocco before moving to Israel with his family at a very young age. After his IDF army service (fittingly put in charge of entertainment), he enrolled at Shenkar, taking design courses and matriculated in 1982. After taking a job designing "horrible mother-of-the-bride dresses" as Elbaz colorfully recounts, he was introduced to, and taken under the wing of the iconic Geoffrey Beene. The rest as they say is history.
But, like any true artist knows, one cannot stay in the same place forever, be it physically, emotionally or creatively. So, after injecting his playful creativity into Lanvin for 14 years, he was shockingly ousted by the atelier's majority stakeholder. After a few rainy days and some much-needed travel to cleanse his imaginative palette, Alber Elbaz made the decision to strike out on his own.
Thus, la saga d'Elbaz brings us to the launch of his own label, AZ Factory. Unlike the extravagantly fanciful designs Alber dreamed up for Lanvin, the pieces in his collection are decidedly more down-to-earth, sleek and practical, while still maintaining his beloved sense of whimsy. One can also see Alber returning to his Israeli Shenkar roots in a way. Shenkarites (Shenkaronians? Shenkaristas? Shenkarians? - Will have to do a deeper dive into this later) are known to seamlessly mesh fashion and tech, thus creating truly innovative and fresh designs. AZ Factory's Anatoknit technology innovative knitwear technology composed of ENKA® Lycra and Viscose. This ultra-soft and flexible textile is specially engineered to strategically sculpt and support the body, while allowing for breathability and comfortable movement.
It's such a treat to see Elbaz beautifully express his authentic self through his designs. His designs, the way Alber envisions them, through his lens, not through a certain aesthetic that is expected when one designs for another brand. As Alber succinctly put it, "Not a revolution, not an evolution. A reset. This is not an Alber Elbaz come back, this is the birth of AZ Factory".
AZ Factory is available now on their website, as well as on Net-A-Porter and Farfetch.
