Hugs for Sale

“I feel like I’ve been pregnant for five years and now I’m in labour for a month and a half, filled with many panic attacks and several epidurals in my back,” Alber Elbaz says, less than a minute into our interview. On a frosty January afternoon in Paris, he is a week away from introducing a new fashion concept backed by Richemont, called AZ Factory, that marks his return to the industry after a five-year absence.

“At least the baby has a father and mother,” Elbaz says. “Richemont is the father, and I’m the mother.”

Though he is his usual irreverent self, weariness seems to dampen his mood after many long days and nights back at work. His eyes squint from behind his black frames and his head rests heavily on his hand