Longtime Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz is leaving his position as creative chief of the French fashion house.
Elbaz has been designing for Lanvin for 14 years. According to a report by WWD, Elbaz split with the house after creative differences came to a head between executives and the designer. WWD reports that sources said Elbaz and Lanvin owner Shaw-Lan Wang and CEO Michèle Huiban had disagreements that couldn’t be resolved. A spokeswoman for the brand confirmed the news.
It’s the second major shakeup for fashion in the past week. Just a few days ago, Christian Dior and Raf Simons parted ways, and earlier this season, it was announced that Alexander Wang was splitting with Balenciaga. The latest move will most certainly fuel speculation that Elbaz is headed to Dior, though the house has not yet determined a successor to Simons.
Elbaz is well-known for developing collections of well-crafted, feminine pieces for Lanvin and helping to bring the brand closer to the forefront of fashion — winning him fans like Meryl Streep and Emma Stone along the way. He joined the house in 2001 after it was sold by L’Oreal to Taiwanese investor Shaw-Lan Wang.
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This year, speculation has been growing about whether the company would be put up for sale as Lanvin was becoming increasingly eclipsed by buzzier brands.
Elbaz started in fashion at Geoffrey Beene in New York before taking the helm at Guy Laroche in 1996. After his well-received stint there, he moved to Yves Saint Laurent for the Rive Gauche ready-to-wear collection. He was let go after Gucci Group took the reigns at YSL, and roughly two years later, Elbaz found a niche at Lanvin.
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