Alaïa: A Sculptor of Fashion
This first Paris retrospective of Azzedine Alaïa’s unique creative career is set to open within Palais Galliera’s newly renovated spaces.
Alaïa’s presented his first signature collection in 1979, already adopting an approach to leather that rendered it in a more fragile and sensual way. He has since established a timeless body of work. His influence on today’s fashion is fundamental, as he continues to go his own way, preferring ‘garments that last’ to those that vanish with the season.
Alaïa’s draping of bodies with jersey and stretch fabrics is an allusion to his sculpture studies at art school in Tunis “when I’m working on a garment, it has to flow over the body, in profile and in back view,” he said. Zips make their way around the dresses, eyelets pierce the coats, stitching accentuates the curves of the suits. Alaïa fashioned a new body, like a sculptor working with muslin and leather.
The Alaïa exhibition reopens the Palais Galliera space, which has been closed for renovation since 2009. A collection of 70 of Alaïa’s remarkable dresses will be on display. Presented in collaboration with the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the exhibition is extended to the Museum’s Matisse Room. Here, a selection of Alaïa’s one-off evening dresses will be exhibited alongside the permanent Matisse collection.
The exhibition opens on Saturday 28 September 2013 and is on display until Wednesday 26 January 2014.
