There are collections that are commercial and collections that are avant-garde. Then there are collections that are simply beautiful. The spring 08 Lanvin collection by Alber Elbaz is such a collection.
Jeanne Lanvin was one of the most influential fashion designers of the early 20th century. She began as a Milliner (just like Coco Chanel) but it was her designs for her own daughter's dresses that got her noticed. Other mothers started asking Jeanne to make pieces for their little girls. Before she knew it, she was designing for the mothers themselves.

Chic and feminine embroidery on light, floral colors became her trademark. The house grew over the years to encompass fragrance, home furnishings and a men's licensee.

Like so many sleeping beauty fashion houses, Lanvin has awakened with the creative help of Alber Elbaz. Elbaz was not a household name and was a bit of an underdog in the fashion world.

His Moroccan and Israeli roots give him a wonderfully eclectic and sensual sensibility. While he was creating beautiful collections, his affiliations with any one fashion house were fleeting.
I first met Elbaz when he was working with the Krizia collection from Milan. A friend organized the American Press for the house and we would be there during fashion week. Krizia is one of those kooky family run Italian houses that are like living Fellini movies. The list goes on and on : Donatella Girombelli from Genny/Byblos , Guiliana Gerani at Iceberg/Gilmar, and of course Donnatella Versace at Versace. I worked with two of those ladies and lets just say : it was never dull.

The collection was called Krizia Top (where was krizia bottom??) and Elbaz wowed the jaded fashion crowd that filed into an old theater space in Milan to see the show. He only used black models for the show which was an homage to YSL who made a statement in the 70's by doing the same on his runway.

The collection was a hit but Elbaz was out the door at Krizia before the clothes could hit the stores. Doomed from the start, the relationship soured over Alber's refusal to move to Milan and be under the thumb of Mariuccia, Krizia's owner and head designer. (I'll do another post on American designers who move to Italy to be tortured by female Italian fashion moguls).
His use of color, his use of feathers, and his use of movement are the core of his charm. An early career with Geoffrey Beene was priceless for his sense of fit and drape on the body.

After a long and bumpy road, I'm so glad Elbaz has found his groove at the house of Lanvin. I ran into him on the set of Sex & The City a few years back and heard he had signed the deal with the French house! Costume Designer Pat Fields had invited Alber to meet the girls. I saw him across the set of a very crowded club scene. His own quirky sense of style yet again sets him apart....his look is like a cross between Cartman from South Park and Charlie Chaplin. He has made his look a bit of a trademark... even making a parody of himself on his own runway.
If you don't know the Lanvin collection, learn it.