azzedine alaïa retropective

the palais galliera in paris reopened wednesday after four years of renovations with a tribute exhibit to designer azzedine alaïa.  snaking around the block for the opening was a line of models, editors, designers, artists, celebrities & even the mayor of paris who exclaimed "ça, c'est la classe!"

"the word sexy in not savage enough when it comes to alaïa.  we need a new word," added the musée galliera's director, olivier saillard, who curated the exhibition. "he is like a plastic surgeon, but with scissors. it's an incredible body of work. only a truly great designer can get away with repeating himself for forty years. owning an alaïa is like having an hermès bag. you transmit it from one generation to the next." the exhibition represents over three decades of work but the designs "against time, he's timeless," added saillard. when asked how it felt to see his work displayed, alaïa simply smiled.

this is alaïa's first parisian retrospective & opens to the public on saturday september 28 & runs through january 26, 2014. for more details go here.

jean-paul goude

grace jones revised & updated, new york, 1978

wild things, naomi campbell, harper's bazaar, 2009 

42nd street, sex shop, 1978

miguel & friends, 1975

estella warren, french elle, 1996

georgette louison kala-lobe, paris, 1984

farida khelfa, paris, 1985

la blanche, grace jones, paris, 1983

carolina beaumont, new york, 1976

bjork, mixte magazine, 2007

béatrice dalle for azzedine alaïa, 1998

grace in a cage, roseland ballroom, new york, 1978

the hughes brothers, new york, 1975

azzedine et farida, 1984

wild things, naomi campbell, harper's bazaar, 2009

four ethnic groups: blacks, watts, 1975

four ethnic groups: gays, new york, 1975

hispanic chic: andy & paloma

imagine that most of this was done pre photoshop. back in the day when one had to be creative and inventive.  i miss those days.

azzedine alaïa's apartments

azzedine alaïa rents out the three apartments next to his atelier at 5 rue de moussy in paris. the 3 apartments are housed in a traditional 17th century building that mr. alaïa has converted into a one bedroom & 2 two bedroom apartments. the 100sqm apartments are furnished with marc newson, arne jacobsen, jean prouve charlotte perriand, pierre paulin, andre sornay & pieces from alaïa's own private collection and include a private entrance & complete kitchens.
another plus....breakfast is served from alaïa's own private kitchen!  his quarters (boutique, atelier, showroom, warehouse & private dwelling are near by). oh la la.

azzedine alaïa haute couture fall 2011

ze master craftsman

the genius of alaïa

photography by txema yeste for virgine issue 01. 

azzedine alaïa was interviewed by eric waroll for virginie magazine. you can read the full interview here. excerpts below. love him! so rare for someone in the industry to speak his mind. (well on the record anyway!)

talking about dior, what do you think of the galliano case?

i don't know enough about it really, but it's sad. as i said many times, the fashion world, its system, can be disturbing. the system imposed galliano, and others, to make four collections for him, four collections for the house, four for me, and four for women. when you have one idea per year, it's already a miracle! now, it has become crafty fiddling at a breakneck pace. that's not the essence of fashion. how can you really be creative under these circumstances? for the young designers it's very hard, and for the more mature, they drink more, take more drugs...what i am saying is that the system is not right. we have to see the work from another angle. the system is too stressful:  too many collections, too much pressure. as in other fields, if you want to do a good creative job, it takes time. what's the point? i'm working 24 hours a day. i have had a house in tunisia for 20 years, and i never have time to go because there are collections, fittings....

how do you feel about karl lagerfeld?

i don't like his fashion, his spirit, his attitude. it's too much caricature. karl lagerfeld never touched a pair of scissors in his life. that doesn't mean that he's not great, but he's part of another system. he has capacity. one day he does photography, the next he does advertisements for coca-cola. i would rather die than see my face in a car advertisement. we don't do the same work. and i think that he is not doing a favor to young stylists who might think it works that way. they're going to fall before they retire.

you have some problems with anna wintour?

i said it before. she runs the business (vogue) very well, but no the fashion part. when is see how she is dressed, i don't believe in her tastes one second. i can say it loudly! she hasn't photographed my work in years even if a am a best seller in the u.s. and i have 140 square meters at barneys. american women love me; i don't need her support at all. anna wintour doesn't deal with pictures; she is just doing pr and business, and she scares everybody. but when she sees me, she is the scared one [laughs]. other people think like me, but don't say it because they are afraid that vogue won't photograph them. anyway, who will remember anna wintour in the history of fashion? no one. take diana vreeland, she is remembered because she was so chic. what she did with the magazine was great, with avedon and all the great photographers. vogue remains while its fashion editors come and go.