Alber Elbaz for Lanvin really doesn’t need that runway

I’m in Paris for the couture shows, the biggest of which is the Dior extravaganza on Monday night at Versailles to celebrate 60 years of the house. The longest runway in the world, a who’s who of models from past and present, an all-night party afterward in the garden — I can hardly wait.

But I started my day in the much quieter realm of Alber Elbaz’s Lanvin. The designer had invited small groups of journalists to a suite at the Hotel Crillon to walk us through his pre-collection.

Elbaz is such a wonderful communicator when it comes to his clothes, you have to wonder whether he should even bother having runway shows. I would rather pop in a DVD and see him explain and demonstrate how each piece works, as he did Monday morning.

The standout was a three-in-one dress he said he had designed in response to women’s complaints that they buy a nice dress for a special occasion and can wear it only once. Alber tugged at the top of the black silk column with a lace hem and then it became longer, and longer again. Brilliant!

“As designers, so often we start with a dream of Mexico or something like that, and then we bring that dream into the show,” he said. “I want to start with a need and bring the dream into that need.”

Another standout was a creamy white shirtdress, as easy as a nightgown, cut on a spiral with delicate pearl buttons. Wear it alone or over jeans or under one of Elbaz’s soft black jackets with mismatched jeweled buttons.

Speaking of nightgowns, Lanvin is expanding into more categories including sleepwear, with silky pajamas with grosgrain ribbon trim and pearl buttons that look far too pretty to keep in the house. Elbaz offered a few tracksuits, too, not particularly for exercise but “for the plane,” he said. Hence a blanket-like cardigan and pull-on pants.

But by far the most impressive new category is bridal. Far from Cinderella, these are white dresses, Elbaz-style, with jeweled necklines, tiers of pleated organza, sheer overlays, and restrained silhouettes. One short dress even had sleeves — God forbid. He has also designed an engagement ring with Van Cleef and Arpels that’s a diamond on one side and a pearl on the other, for the girl secure enough not to wear her carats on her sleeve.

Finally, he showed us some exquisite T-shirts, each based on one of his whimsical sketches. In one design, a girl is winking with skirts flying; in another two models are fighting. Like works of art, they are sure to become collector’s items.