Alber Elbaz

Alber Elbaz is hopefully putting his feet up today now that his much-adored Fall ’13 collection for Lanvin has graced the runway. It was a different story yesterday, though, when the sneaker wearing designer (comfort on show day!) rehearsed the show with Cara Delevingne at Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris. We’d save this shot for the scrapbook, Cara! Speaking of…

The Waldorf Astoria got a massive dose of inspiration last night, thanks to the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund’s 50th anniversary of the Geoffrey Beene Fashion Impact Awards. Leave it to Lanvin’s adorably bespectacled leading man to bring the poignant punch. On the premises: an array of notable industry movers and shakers, including the eve’s host, Alina Cho of CNN, designer Bibhu Mohapatra, W’s Stefano Tonchi, Paper’s Kim Hastreiter and the guest of honor, Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz. Each year 130 standout fashion students from colleges around the country are invited, with the top eight receiving scholarships to pursue their dreams with aid from the fund. And dreams are just what honorary lifetime achievement recipient Elbaz, was on hand to discuss. “When I arrived in New York I had two suitcases: one little one for my clothes and a big one for my dreams.” Why the connection between Elbaz and Beene’s namesake org? A former protégé of Beene, Elbaz designed for Beene for seven years.

“I guess 5 o’clock in America is happy hour,” declared Alber Elbaz before the start of his Lanvin pre-fall show at the Bowery Hotel. Yes, there were cocktails, but the presentation was plenty civilized. “This isn’t about Marilyn Monroe moving to India and having an acid trip,” he explained. Demure dresses made from black and navy scuba were accented with ruffled collars and a smattering of gemstone brooches. Knee-grazing bourgeois coats were kept minimal and clean or given rich texture with belted patchwork fur and tweed. (Matching Russian fur ushanka included.) High-waisted skirts and tapered wool pants paired easily with expertly tailored wool flannel suitcoats beckoning business women everywhere. But what anchored the opulence and gave the collection a youthful air were the warm ribbed tights, relaxed thermal long johns (worn with heels, of course), and printed silk scarves wrapped casually around a low ponytail.

Yesterday at Lanvin’s pre-fall show at the Bowery Hotel, The Daily raised an eyebrow upon spotting Simon Doonan sitting pretty in the front row. Although Barneys PR announced his new, less-involved role at the retailer merely hours before, the ever-cheerful media sprite didn’t seem the least bit dismayed. After greeting Alber Elbaz, he chuckled with his neighbors, mingled with the who’s who (like TK and TK), and intensely analyzed the 2011 collection. Now that’s spirit!