Alber Elbaz Did H&M Line So That All Women Could Afford Lanvin

Alber Elbaz says the inspiration behind his H&M collaboration was to give all women the chance to wear his creations. The Lanvin artistic director has designed a range of affordable clothing for the Swedish high street brand and is keen to appeal to females who can't normally afford to buy his pieces.

"It was an exercise for me to understand what is the relationship between high fashion and fast fashion. Ninety-five per cent of women cannot afford Lanvin, so let them have a taste. It's like if I was living in a palace and opened some doors and said, 'Have tea with me, taste the food.' It's not about giving away something that belonged to someone else; it's about sharing."

Elbaz also insisted he didn't do the collaboration to be cool, he just wanted the Lanvin to be "relevant."

"The beauty of our business is that we can do things and then move on. This project with H&M was about being relevant to a moment. I have always said that we are not a cool brand. It's not about being cool or not. We try to be relevant. I'm not going into the cool club. It's not my address." The range hits stores this month.

Items Du Jour: Adriana Lima Teaches Baby to Pose, More Mugler Rumors

—Designer and Britain’s Next Top Model judge Julien MacDonald recently said that having a plus-size model win “makes it a joke.” Perhaps fellow British designer Mark Fast should give him some counsel, considering he was widely praised for using plus-size models in his Spring/Sumer 2010 show last year.

—Supermodel Adriana Lima poses for Brazil’s HOLA! magazine with her husband Marko Jaric and their new baby Valentina. Looks like she’s training her to model already!

—Eclipse actress Ashley Greene gives into her cravings and claims that she doesn’t diet. As if we needed another reason to be jealous of her…

—Although plus-size models have been making their mark at current shows, normal people made a splash at Sao Paulo Fashion Week when they appeared on the Do Estilista runway. Despite their varying physiques, it was obvious that regular, non-models do know how to own a catwalk.

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