And now for something completely different at AZ Factory: Instead of another collaboration with a “guest amigo” or outside talent, design duties for the spring 2024 collection will fall to the two men who have collaborated with all of AZ’s invitees to date: Norman René Devera and Peter Movrin.
“In a way, it’s like a collaboration with someone who never did a solo project, never signed a collection alone,” said Richemont executive Mauro Grimaldi, making a distinction between a collection attributed to a studio and one authored by its two lead talents. “They’re doing their own collection, not a studio collection… It’s the first time they’ll express their point of view.
“Instead of looking outside for talent, we decided to give an opportunity to the heads of our design team,” he aded.
Devera and Movrin were hand-picked by the late Alber Elbaz when he created AZ Factory in 2019 as a joint venture with Compagnie Financière Richemont, billed as a newfangled fashion house turning out “smart fashion that cares.”
Their collection, dubbed “AZ Factory by Them,” is to be unveiled on the runway on Oct. 2 during Paris Fashion Week.
AZ Factory has invited a range of guest creatives to date, from young up-and-comers to more established talents, in the wake of the founder’s death in April 2021 from COVID-19.
Among those whom Devera and Movrin have collaborated with are Paris-based designer Lutz Huelle, founder of the Lutz label; Molly Molloy and Lucinda Chambers, the design duo behind Colville; South African designer Thebe Magugu, and size-inclusive brand Ester Manas, designed by Ester Manas and Balthazar Delepierre.
Alongside other AZ Factory departments, the two men have also offered their expertise to emerging designers that have designed couture collections or one-of-a-kind ranges: Lora Sonney, Tennessy Thoreson and Cyril Bourez.
“This time AZ Factory will focus on celebrating the extraordinary in-house team and their endless capacity to combine different influences within a new and multi-faced aesthetic,” the brand said in a statement provided exclusively to WWD. “Sometimes you just decide to stay home and enjoy the wonderful family you belong to.”
To be sure, AZ’s two heads of design bring a wealth of experience.
Born into a family of butchers in a small Slovenian town, Movrin found his way to Central Saint Martins in London, where his graduation collection attracted the attention of sharp-eyed fashion figures including Lady Gaga, Björk and Marina Abramović.
He would go on to work for fashion houses including Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Celine and JW Anderson. His title at AZ Factory is senior designer.
London-born Devera, a graduate of London College of Fashion and Middlesex University, spent his college years working as a pattern cutter for Vivienne Westwood and as a studio assistant at Giles Deacon.
He worked for years under Phoebe Philo at Celine before joining Elbaz at Lanvin in 2015, only two weeks before the Israeli designer’s ouster from the brand after an acclaimed 14-year stint. Devera exited Lanvin to work as a senior womenswear designer at Louis Vuitton, then under Raf Simons at Calvin Klein 205W39NYC, and finally Versace, before rejoining Elbaz when he was staffing up for the launch of AZ Factory.
Prized for his 3D design methods, Devera’s title at AZ Factory is design director for ready-to-wear and accessories.
Grimaldi, a strategic adviser to Philippe Fortunato, chief executive officer of fashion and accessories maisons at Richemont, marveled that Devera, like Elbaz before him, has the uncanny ability “to transform fabric into something major.”
Paris-based AZ Factory turns out about six product stories a year.