On May 3rd, former creative director of Lanvin, Alber Elbaz casually crossed Fifth Avenue at 13th st, and shuffled past the several hundred people waiting to see him talk at The University Center, relatively unnoticed.
Over 1700 people RSVP’d for the event including many high profile fashion professionals and celebrities. In the lobby Jane Keltner De Valle, Fashion News Editor of Glamour Magazine, was preparing to snapchat the event. Also inside the University Center was Rio Uribe the designer of Gypsy Sport and winner of the 2015 CFDA Fashion Fund Award, and recording artist Theophilus London, who were trying not to bump into students whizzing past them to make it to class on time.
With moderation and commentary from Kim Hastreiter, founder of Paper Magazine, and Julie Gilhart, former Senior VP of Barneys NY and champion for the LVMH Designer Prize, Alber’s talk touched on topics ranging from the importance of education to how to find happiness.
Elena Su, a graduating senior in fashion design said she came to the event because she was curious to hear “what he’s doing now.” She said she had also attended similar designer talks held by Parsons including a conversation with Victoria Beckham and a conversation with Diane Von Furstenberg.
The former creative director, who refused to sit in what he described as “rather uncomfortable chairs” brought with him in a large brown paper bag of tissue boxes and candy that he passed out to the crowd of students and professionals. After an introduction by Parsons Dean Burak Camak, Alber then re-introduced himself to the crowd with the joking opening statement “I got fired after 15 years!”
A joke only he could make as Alber was recently pushed out of the luxury French fashion house Lanvin.
As a gag gift the audience was asked to fill out a piece of paper telling him in 8 words or less what he should do next before the conversation began.
“If you are good and professional, don’t be scared. No one can erase you,” Alber said to the crowd in reference to designers being in and out of fashion at any moment.
Yi Zhao, a senior at Parsons wasn’t expecting to gain much insight from the event but even she felt that Alber gave some good advice.
“I really came just to see him and hear him talk about life after Lanvin,” Zhao said.
Several audience members asked how he felt about the ever-quickening pace of the fashion system, rumored to be the reason why he was let go from his previous post, and he said that this kind of schedule works for some designers and doesn’t work for others, “It’s not really healthy.”
“If the wind is coming you can build a wall to block it or you can build a windmill to use the momentum of the wind to keep going. In fashion, sometimes I think that we have built a bunker to keep from changing but now I think we need to let in the newness of the future.”
Alber also stated that the fashion system is very difficult to navigate between financial interest, marketing, the show calendar and the pressure to be “an image maker” and compete with celebrities but not without reminding the crowd of young designers that “You work to do a good job, not to be famous.”
While this is likely not the last time Alber will recount his creative wisdom to a crowd it will certainly be some time before we see any new collections from him on his own or with another label. What’s next for Alber Elbaz? Not even he knows, “since I left [Lanvin] I can’t sketch, I just write ideas.”
Ayo Keys is currently earning a dual degree in Fashion Design and Journalism + Design at The New School. Born and raised in West Philadelphia she enjoys thai food, large issues of Vogue, anything rose gold and knitting. She has an obsession with art direction, well designed fonts and hopes to one day become a Creative Director.
