Last time around, Alber Elbaz s fierce, streamlined, high-platformed collection raced ahead of the season, igniting a lady-versus-power-woman debate that has only just burst into flame on other runways. For fall, Elbaz turned away from that thought to engage in a less obviously agenda-setting round of small talk: the conversation about the legacies of midcentury haute couture houses that is currently mesmerizing many Parisian designers.
Thus, the collection picked up Christian Dior s New Look (hip-padding), Cristobal Balenciaga s volumes (flounced tent dresses and swing-back coats), Elsa Schiaparelli s surrealism (illusion effects), and Saint Laurent s pantsuits (tuxedo dressing). That set Elbaz up for a challenge: how to modernize those shapes, and how to meld them into the empathetic, wardrobe-building style that has been his personal gift to the modern Lanvin woman.
When he concentrated on easy-to-wear party dresses, Elbaz was on home territory. His ballerina-like numbers of draped tulle on nude backgrounds, a black silhouette with an inverted triangle for a top and a full skirt below, and slim black dresses with bright satin folds inserted into the front were all in that lovely vein. Elbaz s inventive jewelry—big neckpieces made from crystal and gem-set teardrops of jersey—also put him in a category of his own.
Elsewhere, though, the designer s more-intellectual experiments with form could end up leading him into an uncharacteristic collision with women s sensitivities. Those who dress to avoid broadness of beam and kindly inquiries of "When s it due?" may not leap to invest in molded, stand-out hips or dresses that swing (out, and out again) from the shoulder. Still, this collection held out a lot that was less assertively "fashion"-conscious—like the smoking looks and some great coats. These constitute the kind of personal, under-the-radar chic that makes women rave about Elbaz, even when he s not in ground-breaking mode.
