Unmistakeably Elbaz ... Lanvin Fall/Winter 2010-11

Observably, you need neither a poet nor a journalist to tell you the kind of woman that Alber Elbaz has envisaged in his mind for Parisian fashion house Lanvin. The shapes, the drapes and the superfluities tell his story pretty well. In my version, I picture Elbaz’s woman as someone who is filthy rich, living an ostentatious life and feminine to the core.

Season after season, one can’t help but to notice that Elbaz’s Lanvin woman has gradually become a template for women to reinvent themselves from being introvert to the opposite; from being a conservative housewife, whose daily uniform is made of preppy yet lousy grandma knitted cardigans and plain Jane cotton dresses to a supermodel-esque diva in liquid chiffon one-shoulder gowns, chunky futuristic accessories and top knotted hair.

Such is a transformation that most fashionistas are looking forward to and to date, Elbaz’s feminine creations for Lanvin have been assisting those ‘style transitions’ seamlessly.

For the fall/winter 2010-11 collection, the working palette starts with the shade of black and later transitioned to the lighter shades of grey and slate, with tinges of red and earthy tones like brown. Gone are the fair haired models with top knots, as seen at the spring/summer runway presentation last year; in are models with dark fringed and silky straight long hair.

Aside from the ubiquitous fluid drapes that have been recognised as one of Elbaz’s design trademarks by fashion authorities, the Moroccan-born Israeli fashion designer, who is also one of the UNICEF ambassadors, has added ‘softened’ masculine tailoring into the collection to accommodate his fans’ requests. As usual, chunky jewelleries with references taken from the tribal African style, ornate trimmings and plush furs in the forms of coats and trims were inducted into the superbly edited collection as well.

In the menswear department, the working palette used by Ossendrijver is similar to the one used by Elbaz for his womenswear line, except with faint distressed textures on the fabrics.

Silhouette wise, much of the pieces are made to be cinched on the wearers’ body, hence accentuating a man’s natural corporeal shape. The outerwears are mostly less structured and made from nylon, wool or calfskin while essential pieces like tops, trousers and suits are made of cotton, linen and wool.

There are also several effortless yet unique pieces created by Ossendrijver for this season and they are baby alpaca sweater in green that, at a glance, could be easily mistaken for poncho; merino wool hooded blouson in navy blue; waist-cinching wool coat in charcoal; merino wool zipped collar in various colours that can be worn as belt; and mixed silk trousers and hooded blouson swathed in the shade of gold.

If you fancy for something that spells guerrilla chic, then opt for the combination of grey cloud printed viscose trousers, alpaca and wool sweater in taupe and green, a green merino wool scarf with fringe details, and a pair of python monk shoes in dark and khaki.

Lanvin fall/winter 2010-11 ready-to-wear and accessories collections will be available soon at all Lanvin stores and selected multi-brand retailers worldwide.

*Photos by style.com.

Lanvin - Indulge Floor, Starhill Gallery, 181 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.