Luxury fashion company Richemont on Sunday confirmed the death of designer Alber Elbaz, saying the former creative director at French fashion house Lanvin had died from COVID-19. Among Elbazs creations were the dress worn by Meryl Streep when she accepted her Oscar for Best Actress in 2012 for The Iron Lady, while other celebrity fans included Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Kate Moss, according to Womens Wear Daily. "It was with shock and enormous sadness that I heard of Albers sudden passing," said Richemont chairman Johann Rupert, who described Elbaz as a beloved friend. "Alber had a richly deserved reputation as one of the industrys brightest and most beloved figures. I was always taken by his intelligence, sensitivity, generosity and unbridled creativity," Rupert added. The designer, who was known for his work at fashion house Lanvin from 2001 to 2015, died on Saturday in Paris, WWD reported. He was 59. Since 2019 he had been working on a fashion joint venture with Richemont called AZ Factory, a company aimed at producing smart womens fashion by blending traditional craftsmanship with technology. Elbaz was born in Morocco and raised in Israel from the age of one. He launched his fashion career in 1985, working in New York with designer Geoffrey Beene.