Alber Elbaz, a Moroccan-born Israeli fashion designer who rejuvenated Lanvin and had recently started a new venture, AZ Factory, died April 24 in Paris. He was 59. The cause was Covid-19, according to Richemont, the company backing Mr. Elbaz’s brand.

Beloved by his celebrity clients, like Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman, Beyoncé, Lupita Nyong’o and Michelle Obama, and his peers, Mr. Albaz had launched AZ Factory after a five-year hiatus following his abrupt firing from Lanvin, where he was fashion director from 2001 to 2015.

In 2015, as he received the Fashion Group International award, he said, “We designers, we ask ‘What do women want? What do women need? What can I do for a woman to make her life better and easier? How can I make a woman more beautiful?’”

In New York, Mr. Elbaz became the assistant designer of Geoffrey Beene, then moved to Paris in 1996 to become head of design at Guy Laroche. Two years later, Yves Saint Laurent chose Mr. Elbaz to take over as his heir. When Gucci Group bought the brand in 1999, Mr. Elbaz was soon fired in favor of Tom Ford.

Mr. Elbaz received the International Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2005, and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2007. In 2016, the French government named him an officer of the Legion of Honor.

“I asked myself, ‘If I was a woman, what would I want?’” Mr. Elbaz told The New York Times in January. “Something that is first comfortable. Something fun. Something that lets me eat a big piece of cake.” [Pictured, a 2011 design by Mr. Elbaz for Lanvin. Francois Guillot/AFP via Getty Images]