Case Studies

Alber Elbaz, Lanvin’s creative director, saviour and fashion superstar, once told the New York Times: ‘I can never make a cake because they tell you ten grammes of this, and ten minutes here. I can’t follow those kinds of rules. And I do not crave that kind of perfection. And neither do the women I dress.’ So when he suggested crab croquettes in the shape of an oversized bow tie for our ongoing Artist’s Palate series, we finessed the recipe for him. The floppy, often badly tied, bow tie, with thick-rimmed glasses, is his signature look – or rather his personal signature look. Fortunately for Lanvin and the women who worship its wearable, glamorous, feminine output, the brand’s signature look is a lot more considered than a crumpled jacket and Roger Rabbit-sized neckwear. The chair wearing the crab bow tie here is by Albert-Armand Rateau, who collaborated with Jeanne Lanvin on her boutique and apartment interiors and ran Lanvin’s interiors department in the 1920s. For Albert Elbaz’s recipe, visit Wallpaper.com