Style As I See It (SAISI): Lanvin Originality... Alber Elbaz

So I fell even more in love with Lanvin pronounced as given here: Lanvin pronunciation (French), after I read his interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Harper's Bazaar. I wrote about Lanvin dresses in March 2013. I've always felt that the designer's creations are lovely but I add "original" to the list. I was in a Chanel store last weekend (by the way, you can't purchase a new authentic Chanel bag online; ONLY in a store). While in the store, I discussed the lack of originality and uniqueness in designers of late. Everyone is copying everyone else: everyone has the Chanel design now, for instance. Remember when you knew someone was rocking a Chanel bag by the square-shaped threading on the leather bags? Now, Dior has something similar and of course, smaller boutiques. To Dior's mini-credit, their threading is two concentric squares instead of one...Louboutin lost a case against making only his shoes have red bottoms... I've seen YSL shoes with red soles.

For me, a lover of originality, it kinda makes me lose my taste in designer outfits. Well, that was until I read Alber Elbaz's statements. Here's an excerpt from the dialogue (page 526 of Harper's Bazaar March 2014 issue).

Sanjay Gupta: So if "cool" is not the sentiment, what is the modern "cool" for Alber? Is it authenticity?

Alber Elbaz: "Authenticity, of course. And I think it's something that's being erased today because everybody wants to be like everybody... I think that the beauty is making mistakes, the beauty is being wrong, the beauty is being authentic, and authenticity is a very important thing, in every demand. And I think as a doctor you have to be authentic, and as a person you have to be authentic, and as a father you have to be authentic- because this is originality. I think this is a very important thing that I don't see enough of today. I love authenticity."

Something else profound that Alber said was "Some of the biggest thinkers I have seen are not those stylish people. They are the total opposite, the ones you can almost ignore in a room."

I fell in love with Lanvin's Alber Elbaz. You may read the entire interview here: "The Dress Doctor."