Former Lanvin Creative Director Alber Elbaz Returns To The Fashion Fold
The lauded designer will debut his new label, AZ Factory, on January 26
Fashion loves a good comeback, and Alber Elbaz is as good as it gets. Today, the lauded designer and former creative director of Lanvin announced that he will debut his new ready-to-wear label, AZ Factory, on January 26 as an invited guest member of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, the governing body of the French fashion industry.
Conceived during his time in quarantine and backed by luxury conglomerate Richemont, AZ Factory will premiere digitally and be followed up by The AZ Factory World Tour, which centers around a talk show hosted by Elbaz that aims to educate and better communicate his message to consumers.
“I’ve dreamt for years about a fashion reset to care, and that dream is even more relevant today at a time when people cannot be together,” Elbaz said in a statement. “The world is changing fast, and we are all adapting to new behaviours and emotions.”
Billed as The Talk Show with Alber Elbaz & Friends, the live broadcast will be presented on e-commerce giants Net-a-Porter and Farfetch on January 27. “Alber’s vision for AZ Factory is truly original,” said Sheena Sauvaire, chief marketing officer of Net-a-Porter. “He has created a wholly new approach to launching a brand at a time when our industry is evolving and consumers are looking for escapism.”
“The values of the brand—love, trust, respect, and treating customers as friends—along with the desire to experiment and try new things, resonated strongly with our own values,” added Holli Rogers, chief brand officer of Farfetch. “This shared approach was really behind the inspiration for the AZ Factory #worldtour. In a world where we can’t physically be together right now, the next best thing was to use our creativity and technology to bring our customers on tour and let them jump on board, take a tour of the incredible collection, and help spread a feeling of joy and togetherness.”
Since leaving his position at Lanvin in 2015, Elbaz has kept busy, bringing his signature jewel tones and playful prints to capsule collections with Tod’s and LeSportsac. AZ Factory, however, is completely the designer’s vision.
“This dreams factory is focused on developing real solutions for today’s women,” Elbaz expressed. “It is a product-focused and a communications-focused project, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to bring it to the world in a fabulous, entertainment-driven way with two of the leaders of the digital luxury world, Farfetch and Net-a-Porter.”
Written by Barry Samaha. Lead image courtesy of Jason Lloyd-Evans