Alber Elbaz was appointed Creative Director of Lanvin in 2001. In the four years that he had been there, the Israeli-American brought the century-old French fashion house into new heights.

Founded by Jeanne Lanvin in 1890 as a custom children's clothes shop, Lanvin entered the annals of fashion history by becoming the first fashion house to ‘dress up’ the whole family by having a women, men and children’s divisions.

After Jeanne Lanvin’s death in 1946, her family continued the business. However, the house has been something of a sleeping beauty since the early ‘80s. L’Oreal bought its initial interest in the 1990s and finally in August 2001, an investment group led by Shaw-Lan Wang, a Taiwanese media baroness acquired the company.

Three months later, news of Alber Elbaz’s appointment as Creative Director for Lanvin hit the fashion world. Taking the helm, Elbaz gave the venerable brand a new focus with his innovative collections.

Elbaz, who once assisted Geoffrey Beene, first grabbed attention as the designer of Guy Laroche in the mid-‘90s, where he produced a series of commercially and critically acclaimed collections.

Elbaz subsequently became the women's ready-to-wear designer of YSL Rive Gauche, but left that house after the Gucci Group acquired Saint Laurent. His last position before going to Lanvin was designing Krizia Top in Milan.

Since Elbaz’s appointment, Lanvin has become a new favorite among the fashionista set, a far cry from the ‘sleeping beauty’ title it had been given.

And last Monday, as the designer received the International Designer Award from the CFDA, the night became of one of Alber Elbaz’s shining moments.