Alber Elbaz Joined Instagram & Used 30 Emojis in His First Post

Yahoo Style Contributors

Alber Elbaz on the runway. Photo: AP

By Sam Reed

Former Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz — the second most recognizable bow tie-enthusiast behind Bill Nye — has officially joined Instagram.

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Elbaz’s decision to hop on board the social media train may come as a surprise to some, especially given the designer’s recent comments about how the industry’s social-media driven fast pace has caused “designer burnout.” But it looks like all it took was a bit of nudging from Instagram CEO and founder Kevin Systrom to convince Elbaz to get in the game.

In the lengthy caption of his first post (which is a selfie, because obviously), the designer writes that in addition to Systrom’s push, the outpouring of support he has felt during the fallout of his dismissal at Lanvin has caused him to rethink his previous aversion to the ‘gram.

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With no fewer than 28 emojis (not shown here), the designer writes:

HUGE hugs+BIG thanks to all of you around the world for showing me so much L❤VE. The day after my last show in PARIS , I met with Kevin Systrom, the co-founder of Instagram. I joked and told him..“I don’t do Instagram because I don’t have 'photogenic’ friends…only good FRIENDS And I don’t take pictures of food…..I prefer to EAT

But this past 2 wks made me realize how many AMAZING friends+supporters I have….And YES,they are all 'photogenic’…because they are all BEAUTIFUL 'inside-out’.

Instagram is a beautiful way to communicate+share L❤VE.

I L❤VE YOU ALL BACK

I am now on #Instagram !!!

Thank you @kevin Alber @alberelbaz8

#alberelbaz #instagram #iloveyou

Alber’s first Insta. Photo: @alberelbaz8/Instagram

Queen of Instagram Eva Chen also celebrated the occasion with her own post of the bespectacled designer which she captioned, "LET’S GIVE A WARM INSTAGRAM WELCOME TO THE LEGENDARY ALBER ELBAZ! He just joined @instagram and has his fish gape/duck face ready!! Follow him @alberelbaz8 ‼️”

Eva Chen and Alber Elbaz. Photo: @evachen212/Instagram

Elbaz isn’t the only designer to flip his position on social media. Earlier this year, Marc Jacobs — who once called it “appalling” — also joined the app. Let’s just hope that in the futures, Elbaz doesn’t suffer the same Instagram mishaps that Jacobs has faced.