Ester Manas and Balthazar Delepierre’s enthusiasm nearly burst through the Zoom. They were days away from a Paris pop-up showcasing the collection they designed as AZ Factory’s newest Amigos, and their propensity for finishing each other’s sentences was kicked up a few notches. “We were surprised when they called,” Ester began, “and super happy,” Balthazar noted.
Earlier this year, as the first anniversary of Alber Elbaz’s sudden passing was approaching, the company that he founded introduced a new rotating designer—Amigo, in house parlance—concept. The South African talent Thebe Magugu was first up; he unveiled his fall 2022 collection for the label in April. Cyril Bourez made a collection of couture ready-mades out of spliced vintage t-shirts. Now it’s Manas and Delepierre’s turn.
The duo is new on the Paris fashion scene, with just two shows under their belts. She’s French, he’s Belgian, and from their homebase of Brussels they’re building a size-inclusive brand, the dresses of which Manas wraps and ruches on her own curvy frame. “I am making clothes to welcome everyone,” she told Vogue Runway last season.
Size inclusivity was one of the tenets Elbaz talked up when he launched AZ Factory in early 2021. That first offering was called “My Body,” and its knit dresses were designed to accommodate all shapes and sizes. In that sense, this Ester Manas-designed AZ Factory offering is the closest to Elbaz’s own work so far, the most amigable, if you will.
The collection opens with a very Ester Manas silhouette, skin-baring and beruffled through the bodice, with long sleeves and a clingy midi-length skirt, in the very Alber Elbaz shade of electric fuchsia. There’s a second dress in that color with the pronounced shoulders that Manas sees as another one of Elbaz’s hallmarks.
They also worked extensively with knit—the clingy pieces feature plenty of cut-outs—and experimented with new garments for the first time. “At Ester Manas we have a one-size concept. At AZ we decided to design flexible garments but with actual sizing, so we were able to try things we haven’t been able to do before,” Delepierre started. “Like pants!” Manas added. “Woo!”
“Food could be the best meeting point between Alber and us,” Delepierre went on. Manas agreed: “It was the starting point. The connection of the body—big body, or not—with food in fashion is sometimes really tricky. Alber, but us too, we would really like to play with this idea.” “To have fun,” Delepierre interected. “And to say, it’s ok,” she concluded.
That was Elbaz’s message at AZ. Lamenting the perpetual diets of his friends, he said, “we’re not here to transform women; we’re here to hug them.” He loved to eat and to entertain—his Lanvin shows could be depended upon for champagne and other treats—so he surely would’ve appreciated the neo Dutch still life that is the collection’s one print. Look closely and you’ll see blueberries, asparagus, lemons, a roasted chicken, other dishes. In their signature style, Manas and Delepierre printed it on mesh, which they stretched and ruched into clingy numbers with a high slit or a keyhole peekaboo at the neckline. Yum.
