Last year, Alber Elbaz tragically passed away from COVID-19, and now his label AZ Factory has collaborated with 44 fashion houses to pay homage to the iconic designer.
Dubbed the "Love Brings Love Fashion Show," the event has been put together to honor Elbaz, with a selection of designers ranging from those at the helm of some of the oldest fashion houses, to emerging talent, as well as those with their own eponymous labels.
Prior to starting AZ Factory in 2019, Alber Elbaz was at the helm of Lanvin from 2001 until 2014. He also did time at houses including Yves Saint Laurent and Guy Laroche.
To honor his legacy, AZ Factory set out to bring one of Alber's biggest dreams to life. Inspired by an exhibition from 1945 called Théâtre de la Mode that brought over 60 couturiers together in the wake of World War II, Elbaz always wanted to unite the wider fashion family to create a modern interpretation – which is now being fulfilled.
The list of major fashion houses to participate included Bottega Veneta's Daniel Lee, Balenciaga's Demna Gvasalia, Balmain's Olivier Rousteing, Burberry's Riccardo Tisci, Dior's Maria Grazia Chiuri, Rei Kawakubo's COMME des GARÇONS, Fendi's Kim Jones, Gucci's Alessandro Michele and more.
Some of the emerging designers included Charaf Tajer of Casablanca, Christopher John Rogers, Grace Wales Bonner, Thebe Magugu, Tomo Koizumi, and more.
Other names include Raf Simons, Dries Van Noten, Gabriela Hearst, Matthew Williams, Guram Gvasalia, Rick Owens, Virgil Abloh, and so on.
The event was live-streamed as the show took place in Paris, with each designer showcasing one look. For the finale, the AZ Factory team had put together a handful of looks honoring Elbaz, and as the show finished, the models were all stood together in a set built to showcase each look.
The designers all had very different approaches, with some taking the homage very literally and included graphics or designs based on Elbaz's signature look, and others stayed true to their own personal aesthetics, but with small touches that nodded to the late designer. You can take a peek at some of our favorites, and watch the show back if you missed it.
