Luxury fashion company Richemont confirmed on Sunday the death of fashion designer Alber Elbaz, who had previously worked at French fashion house Lanvin.

“It was with shock and enormous sadness that I heard of Alber’s sudden passing,” said Richemont chairman Johann Rupert.

“On behalf of all of my colleagues at Richemont and AZ Factory, I wish to extend our sincerest condolences to his family and friends,” he added.

 Most recently, the Israeli fashion designer founded the Richemont-backed label AZ Factory.

• Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Hugh Lawson, of Reuters.