Alber Elbaz on the Industry That Creates Dreams | BoF VOICES
The Business of Fashion Podcast
The Business of Fashion
4.5 • 813 Ratings
🗓️ 11 January 2019
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Renowned fashion journalist Suzy Menkes once called superstar designer Alber Elbaz a "master of improvisation." That instinctual, passionate disposition was on full display onstage at VOICES, as Elbaz waxed on lyrically about what he’s learned since his abrupt firing from Lanvin in 2015.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, this is Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the Business of Fashion, and this week we have a very special treat for you on the BOF podcast. |
| 0:11.9 | Some fashion designers are idolized, some fashion designers are lionized, and some fashion designers are the ones we love to hate. |
| 0:20.1 | But Albert Albaz is the designer that the fashion industry adores. |
| 0:23.6 | Born in Casablanca, Morocco and raised in Israel, |
| 0:26.6 | Albert graduated from Tel Aviv's Shankar College of Fashion and Textiles |
| 0:31.6 | before moving to New York to work as the right hand to legendary American designer Jeffrey Bean. |
| 0:36.6 | In 1996, Albert relocated to Paris |
| 0:39.7 | to work at Guy L'Eroche and then Ives Saint-Laurent, before moving to L'Envain in October 2001, |
| 0:46.0 | where he had the mission to wake up the Sleeping Beauty. During his 14-year tenure as the creative |
| 0:51.2 | director, he transformed L'Envain into one of the most sought-after |
| 0:54.7 | luxury labels in the world, growing the business to more than 200 million euros of revenue. |
| 1:00.3 | But in 2015, Albert was suddenly and unceremoniously fired, and he left L'Envain. |
| 1:07.4 | Since then, he has been quietly sitting outside the fashion system and gaining valuable perspective |
| 1:12.9 | on our industry and where it should go in the future. |
| 1:16.4 | So I asked Albert to share his thoughts at Voices 2018. |
| 1:20.7 | Here's Albert Albaz on reimagining the fashion system. |
| 1:25.9 | You know, I was really stressed about coming here tonight because, I mean, I didn't know how much I should and how much I could. |
| 1:33.2 | And, you know, these days, it's quite hard to say or to not say. |
| 1:38.6 | And I thought maybe I should speak about the weather. |
| 1:42.1 | But even the weather is no longer a funny issue, |
| 1:45.0 | so I remain with fashion. |
| 1:47.3 | Fashion is always more of a family to me than an industry. |
... |
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