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We knew Alber Elbaz would mark his 10th Lanvin birthday in style, but this was something else. Let’s start at the very beginning. The runway held tables with three-tier cakes, champagne and nibbles for weary fashion travellers, promptly cleared away as the mass of attendees took their seats. Then the spotlight shone on the first girl out in a green dress with Elbaz’s signature ripple across the waist, walking to the sound of Lesley Gore’s ‘You Don’t Own Me’. She was followed by her primary coloured friends: one purple, one yellow, one red, all with twirly hems and peplum skirts. Models were hot on each other’s heels, walking just a few metres apart. Well they had to, the runway was so long the roundtrip would have taken a good half hour. The colour palette muted for the middle chunk, to dark greens, blacks and dull golds that came alive caught under the bright lights, on dazzling party dresses and flirty skirts. And then came the dresses made for walking. The string of models wearing strapless numbers, covered in big rocks, evening gloves and brightly coloured fur stoles falling away, upped the tempo swaggering down the runway, hands on hips, fingers on lips. Raucous applause and that was the end. Or so we thought. Then the huge red velvet curtains parted and revealed Alber, a big band and hundreds of stage lights. “I’m going to sing for you”, he said. “I rehearsed four times but I’m a terrible singer”. As Alber launched into the first verse of Que Sera Sera, we couldn’t believe our eyes or ears; he was being humble about the singing part. Continuing the success of his performative YouTube clips, everyone was on their feet and joining in. Then he invited the whole lot to a party, not too far away. About 10 metres walk in fact, through the curtains to the Lanvin carnival where whistles blowed, champagne flowed and Mr Wonka chocolates made mouths water. The Pink Stripe played for most of the night, a mix of French jazz numbers and South American salsa that had every intern, editor and chief dancing side by side to the beat. It was the anniversary, but it felt like the wedding night. Hats off to a living legend and the most popular man in Paris today, Mr Alber Elbaz.
Text: Sarah Raphael
Photography: Mitchell Sams
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