Alber Elbaz, the designer known for his spectacular Lanvin rejuvenation from 2001 to 2015, died Saturday in a Paris hospital.
He was 59 years old.
His death has been confirmed by the Compagnie Financière Richemont, his joint venture partner in AZ Factory, his latest venture in the field of fashion.
The cause of death has yet to be disclosed.
Born in Casablanca in Morocco on February 6, 1961, of Israeli descent, Elbaz who had a precocious talent and had trained in New York, began working with Guy Laroche from 1996 to 1998.
Nominated by Pierre Bergé, Elbaz was creative director of Yves Saint Laurent from 1998 for three seasons before joining Lanvin and staying there until 2015, deeply renovating the maison. Exuberant personality, with a great sense of humor, imaginative, much loved by the movie stars he has dressed many times, from Nicole Kidman to Natalie Portman, Chloë Sevigny, Sofia Coppola. Meryl Streep, Demi Moore, Catherine Deneuve, Kate Moss, Uma Thurman, Julianne Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow. He had taken a five-year hiatus after being ousted from Lanvin and recently launched the AZ Factory startup.