April 30th, 2008 : Alber Albaz Gets the Blues

Alber Albaz, of the much hyped (and much loved, at least by this writer) Lanvin line, has been coaxed into designing a line of jeans for trendy Acne (I can't believe I just used the words "trendy" and "acne" in the same sentence).

"What if you don't want to wear a skinny jean?" (Albaz) asked rhetorically, confirming that his line will offer women a variety of options. "It's time to go back to a product that has a dream to it. I asked myself, 'What kind of jeans can I bring that will be a Lanvin jean and Acne spirit infused in one?'"

Whatever the fit, you can be damned certain they'll cost a fortune while somehow convincing you they're entirely worth it (the fashion equivalent of an Eliot Spitzer). Top Ramen for three months and carpooling to the office? Appropriate sacrifices, both.

BTW: Lanvin was considered one of the industry's few true hits for the upcoming Fall/Winter 2008/2009 season. Gorgeous, sophisticated and ridiculously wearable. Even the normally even-keeled Sarah Mower does her best impression of a giddy school girl in the throes of a fashion crush for Style.com:

"Every calibration of usefulness was represented, from plain wool work-ready day dresses and pantsuits through knockout fur and patent coats, asymmetric body-molding cocktail options right up to blindingly brilliant dresses made of vertical ribbons loaded with gold sequins. In a season when so many have anxiously cast around for what women will want in a recession, Elbaz has intuited the best answer of all: Give us restraint, give us pragmatism, but never slam the door on the possibility of utter gorgeousness."

Amen to that! See Lanvin in motion below: