The party people were out in force on Friday night in Paris’ Marais to celebrate the latest editions of two—get this—print magazines. The revolving-editor A Magazine chose Giambattista Valli to helm its new issue: his chosen theme, “real beauty,” and his cover, a portrait of River Phoenix by Michael Tighe (above right). Marina Abramovic, Nan [...]

Remember Eyjafjallajökull? Olympia Le-Tan sure does. The Icelandic volcano—and its lingering clouds of ash, which wrecked havoc on European aviation for a good while—forced the accessory designer to cancel a much anticipated trip to Thailand. “I was so angry, and I began to imagine that this might be the end,” Le-Tan said at a cocktail [...]

Rumored yesterday, confirmed today, the latest designers to collaborate with H&M will be Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver. “I have said in the past that I would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public. This has been an exceptional exercise, [...]

Batman comics aren’t usually stocked alongside fashion mags, but that doesn’t mean they’re not pretty stylish all the same. (Catwoman totally beat nineties Gucci to sex and skintight leather, after all.) And on Monday at Colette, Sarah Lerfel and crew roll out a collection of pieces inspired by Batman, Catwoman, and their DC Comics stablemates [...]

I was barely over my love for Lanvin’s Fall 2010 womenswear when the label’s men’s accessories catalog found its way to my desk. Here we go again. I love the direction Alber Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver, the steward of Lanvin’s menswear, are going. Their ready-to-wear had a more military cast than usual this Fall, [...]

A few nights ago, Thom Browne was insisting that it’s possible to do new things in menswear, while I was arguing the nothing-new-under-the-sun case. It’s emotion that stirs us, not novelty—but the emotion can leave us feeling that we have just experienced something unfamiliar. That’s fashion alchemy, and Alber Elbaz’s career at Lanvin is testament [...]

The best way to celebrate the new? At Lanvin, it’s with an eye to the past. France’s oldest couture house marked its 120th anniversary on Wednesday night at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo’s main sumo stadium. Amid red paper lanterns, glittering chandeliers, and bright lights, Alber Elbaz, Lanvin menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver, and exec Thierry Andretta [...]