It Feel Like The Art Room At Summer Camp
About a hundred people sat listening to Elbaz in a room with a view of the Eiffel Tower
, in the Musee de l'Homme. Next door, cavemen wandered in their dioramas. "What do men want? How do men shop today?" Elbaz asked. "Does a man want just a classic suit? Do they spider man costume want maybe a pink jacket? Or maybe they want to have a pyjama because they have no job?" Everyone laughed at this. "I do believe that in times like today, when fashion is where it is because of economic crisis, the role of fashion is changing, and it's no longer just to make sure that we look right and professional and comfortable, but it's maybe about giving the dream and making people feel good again - making a man or a woman think: should I go to a psychiatrist or should I go to buy a Lanvin suit?" "This guy talks a lot about the economy," an American merchandiser in the audience whispered to the person next to him. "Some of them act like nothing's even happened!" his friend replied. "It's insane!" "I think that in times like this, fashion is more important than ever," Elbaz asserted. Elbaz's office is small, and the walls are covered with his drawings, along with miniature versions of his garments. People have made Elbaz fabric dolls to wear some of these small clothes, and they hang along one wall. A blonde doll wears a yellow gown. Elbaz pulled up her skirt to reveal blue bloomers. In the middle of these little ladies is, unmistakably, an Alber Elbaz doll - shorter than the rest, with bow tie and glasses. In a room behind Elbaz's office, eight people, all of whom looked to be in their 20s or 30s, were working. It felt like the art room at summer camp. One young woman, Mathilde, was pinning gold lace on a mannequin. She showed Elbaz how she was trying to create petals of gold tulle to layer with black lace, to make a kind of shadowy tutu. "I love the texture going all the way up," he said, moving a row so that everything became very different. "Do you?" "Yes," she said, smiling. "Now I feel free." He held her face in his hand for a second and then walked on to the next catsuits person. The clothes for Lanvin's runway shows are produced on the floor below. The people there were all a decade or two older than the designers on the top floor, and everyone was French. It was extremely quiet - the laboratory, the scientists at work. Elbaz greeted each one by name and kissed them on both cheeks. One seamstress cried, because her father had just died, and Elbaz hugged her. His mother passed away last year, and Elbaz remains haunted by the loss. "It was the worst," he told me. "Oh! And I was, like, so close to her. She was the one person who could make me really crazy in a split second, and make me relax in a split second. It was a very difficult time." Next to the seamstress's workstation was a pink tulle frock lined in chiffon with hot-pink sequined trim which would fit a very chic, very lucky elf. Even in France, architects wear funny glasses. At the dreaded meeting with them, Elbaz was becoming agitated. "It looks. . . stocky," he said, drawing on top of their drawing with a coloured pencil. For the London boutique, they had designed a room to be wallpapered with the Lanvin logo. It was Elbaz's idea, but it wasn't turning out as he had imagined. "You see, in here I need some place clean to rest my eyes," he said in French, motioning around the design space somewhat desperately. "But this space has a particular use," one of the architects, a serious, silver-haired man, replied in French. "It is for working, not shopping." This did not go down well. " C'est la meme !" Elbaz yelped. He jumped up and grabbed a mannequin wearing a half-completed Art zentai Deco-inspired gold lame dress. " Regardez !" he said, and moved the mannequin forcefully to another spot in the room, where it suddenly appeared sloppy and less appealing. Then he marched it to the back of the room, and placed it in front of the blue-grey velvet curtains. " C'est different ," the architect conceded.by: catsuit Lagos Flights To Take A Trip To The Mesmerizing Islands Franchise Opportunities - Fears That Drown Dreams - Instalment 1 Everything but Water - Your Guide to Swimwear This Summer Housing the Travel Nurse This Years July Festivals In India! Bahamas Cruise For Only Fifty-Nine Bucks - From West Palm Beach Tour to Rajasthan to Explore the Splendid Attractions Out Of The Box Explorer Guides Around Oceana Features, Must-see's And Travel Ideas To Relish On Your Best Places to Retire in Australia Franchise Opportunities - Fears That Drown Dreams - Instalment 2 Wi Country's Cool Voyager Pointers Around Milwaukee Classic Hotels Must-see's And Parks To Experienc Travel Insurance - Cover if I have to cancel trip Excellent Travel Tips Getaways Fairs And Festivals Near The City Center Mild Climate Culinary Landma