Alber Elbaz's New Venture Tease Their Next Move
AZ Factory launches next week, marrying couture and technology as one in a series of exclusive partnerships with Farfetch and Net-a-Porter.
AZ Factory launches next week, marrying couture and technology as one in a series of exclusive partnerships with Farfetch and Net-a-Porter.
Next week, the fashion crowd's wish for Alber Elbaz's return to couture shall be granted. The designer has been absent from womenswear since his Lanvin exit just over five years ago, and since his partnership with Richemont was announced in 2019, the industry have been gagging for what may come next. AZ Factory is Elbaz's proposal for a fashion reset fit for a digital world.
AZ Factory is a project rather than season based venture. 'On one hand we have a lot of technology, and on the other hand we have the couture silhouette...the idea is to take the two and marry them...not to think as a designer, but to work as an engineer' Elbaz explained in a video posted to the AZ Factory Instagram page. Making their debut next Tuesday 26 January on the couture schedule, AZ Factory will launch their direct-to-consumer website alongside a partnership with Farfetch and Net-A-Porter.
'I’ve dreamt for years about a fashion reset...that dream is even more relevant today at a time when people cannot be together. The world is changing fast, and we are all adapting to new behaviours and emotions. This dreams factory is focused on developing real solutions for today’s women. It is a product-focused and a communications-focused project, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to bring it to the world in a fabulous, entertainment-driven way with two of the leaders of the digital luxury world' Elbaz said in a statement, still leaving us with little idea of what we can expect to see in terms of product.
What we are expecting is a fashion film, which Elbaz has told press was always the plan, even pre-pandemic. In the absence of the pop-up truck parked up on the Avenue Montaigne which Elbaz had originally hoped to install, today the AZ Factory World Tour was also announced. This will take the form of a virtual experience hosted on Farfetch next Tuesday. Thanks to a partnership with Zeekit, viewers will be able to virtually tour the AZ Factory, experience products in 3-D and virtually try things on in a range of sizes and skin tones.
The following day, Net-a-Porter will broadcast The Talk Show with Alber Elbaz & Friends. Live-streamed from Paris, Elbaz will play host as guests discuss how joy can be found in dressing up, also debating the alternatives to society's beauty standards. Hold onto your seats and tune into SHOWstudio next week for our coverage.