>> Spring 2010 is a party for Alber Elbaz: tables were erected in the middle of the runway pre-show, with bow-tied waiters offering up puff pastries and fruity frozen cocktails with umbrellas as salsa music played in the background.  Lanvin paper fans were placed on every seat.

With a neon chandelier as backdrop, Elbaz, who just recently returned from Argentina, served up jumpsuits and colorful pouf cocktail dresses — some accessorized with one glove.  The collection, Elbaz said, was crafted almost entirely from man-made fabrics, and called it a look of "new minimalism." The elborately bold jewelry will surely be clamored for.  As Style.com's Derek Blasberg put it, "If you judge a designer by the level of applause at his finale, Alber Elbaz is the best."