Alber Elbaz, fashion designer and former Lanvin director, dies at 59 from coronavirus

Israeli designer Alber Elbaz, best known for spending 14 years at the helm of France’s Lanvin fashion house, has died at 59, the luxury conglomerate Richemont has confirmed.

A spokesperson for Richemont told CNN that Elbaz died Saturday from COVID-19. Women’s Wear Daily said he died at a Paris hospital.

In a statement, Richemont chairman Johann Rupert said “it was with shock and enormous sadness that I heard of Alber’s sudden passing”.

“Alber had a richly deserved reputation as one of the industry’s brightest and most beloved figures,” Rupert said.

“I was always taken by his intelligence, sensitivity, generosity and unbridled creativity. He was a man of exceptional warmth and talent, and his singular vision, sense of…