With “Love brings Love, le défilé hommage à Alber Elbaz”, the fashion museum Palais Galliera in Paris pays tribute to the late Moroccan-born designer, who passed away last year. The exhibition, held until 10 July 2022, recreates the October 2021 show by which AZ Factory, the brand created by Alber Elbaz, honoured his art and legacy.
The sudden death of Alber Elbaz shocked the fashion industry in April 2021, just three months after the designer presented the first collection of his label, AZ Factory, named after the first and last letters of his name. Elbaz, which was well-known for having held Lanvin’s creative direction for 14 years, had founded his own brand in 2019 and could not have the chance to properly introduce his collection on the runway.
Following Elbaz’s desire to have a big fashion show to exhibit his creations, his team worked hard for several months to fulfil his wish. As a result, a magnificent event took place on 5 October 2021 at Carreau du Temple in Paris to provide the perfect ending for Fashion Week and honour the designer’s memory.
AZ Factory organized the “Love Brings Love” show, where 46 designers, between internationally recognized names in the industry and emerging talents, were brought together to create looks inspired in Alber Elbaz and his colourful, cheerful legacy to the fashion industry. Each creative mastermind developed an outfit that merged its personal artistic touch, Elbaz’s bright personality, and contemporary social or environmental issues.
Moreover, the homage continues at Palais Galliera. From 5 March until 10 July 2022, the museum makes it possible to relive the tribute show in its installations in the same way that it was held last October. Not only are the 46 dresses being exhibited in the fashion museum in the same order in which they went down the runway, but visitors also have the chance to get an immersive experience of what the event was like, as the location is arranged with the same scenery, lights, and music of the show. Additionally, there are screens displaying the tribute show, and iconic fashion quotes from Alber Elbaz projected on the room’s walls.
The exhibition begins with a look from Alber Elbaz for AZ Factory’s first collection and ends with two looks created by his design team. Visitors can have a look at the dresses, read a special note that the designers dedicated to Elbaz, and scan a QR code to get extra details on how the clothes were made.
Credits: Melissa Vega
Some of the designers that participated in this homage were Daniel Lee (Bottega Veneta), Olivier Rousteing (Balmain), Maria Grazia Chiuri (Christian Dior), Gabriela Hearst (Chloé), Alessandro Michele (Gucci), Charaf Tajer (Casablanca), Virgil Abloh (Off-White), Daniel Roseberry (Schiaparelli), Pierpaolo Piccioli (Valentino), Chitose Abe (Sacai), and Bruno Sialelli (Lanvin), who created a flowing dress with an image of Alber Elbaz in the back as a way to commemorate the man who was the head of the French Maison between 2001 and 2015.
Credits: Melissa Vega
There is also a look by Thebe Magugu, the South African emerging designer appointed by AZ Factory as its first “Amigo”, a strategy launched by the brand that consists of having guest talents create garments for the label.
With this exhibition, Palais Galliera is not only changing the rules on how to deeply honour a loving personality of the industry, as was Alber Elbaz, since it will be showcasing “Love Brings Love” for more than four months, but it is also considering how important it was for the late designer to be close to its customers, whom he wanted to be considered by AZ Factory as its friends.