Alber Elbaz

Alber Elbaz was an Israeli fashion designer who served as creative director of Lanvin in Paris from 2001 to 2015.

1961 to 2021Creative director of LanvinFounding AZ FactoryWork at Yves Saint Laurent

Born: 12 June 1961, Casablanca
Died: 24 April 2021, 13th arrondissement of Paris
Occupation: personal stylist, entrepreneur, fashion designer
Education: Shenkar College of Engineering and Design

Alber Elbaz was born in 1961 in Casablanca

Elbaz was born in Casablanca, Morocco, to a Jewish family. His mother Alegria was a painter and his father Meyer was a hairdresser. The family moved to Israel when he was 8 months old and settled in Holon.

He began drawing dresses at 7, and his mother supported his interest. After serving in the IDF, he studied at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Ramat Gan.

In New York he worked for a bridal firm and then spent 7 years as an assistant to Geoffrey Beene. He led ready to wear at Guy Laroche from 1996 and became creative director of Yves Saint Laurent in 1998. After Gucci bought the company, he was fired in January 2000.

He joined Lanvin in 2001 and held a stake of nearly 18 percent in the company. He left in October 2015 after disagreements with the major shareholder, Shaw-Lan Wang. He later designed costumes for Natalie Portman in A Tale of Love and Darkness.

In 2019 he partnered with Richemont on his own label, AZ Factory, which launched in 2021. His partner since about 1993 was Alex Koo. He died of the coronavirus in April 2021 near Paris and was buried in Holon.