Azzedine Alaia

A stunning showcase of Azzedine Alaïa's remarkable fashion collection, most published here for the first time.

Azzedine Alaïa (1935-2017) was not only a world renowned fashion designer but also an avid collector of vintage fashion. Now a major exhibition at the Palais Galliera, Paris, showcases the extensive collection he built up over the decades, driven by his fascination with the history of couture and his desire to conserve its heritage for future generations.

Accumulated in the utmost secrecy and never revealed during his lifetime, the sumptuous selection of garments ranges from the 19th-century elegance of Jacques Doucet and the House of Worth to the names that shaped 20th-century fashion - Chanel, Balenciaga, Dior, Schiaparelli - and on to contemporary innovators such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Alexander McQueen.

Captured in specially taken photographs, these meticulously crafted pieces are a tribute to Alaïa's unerring tastes, to the couturiers who inspired and influenced him, and to his endless respect for the craftspeople that created such objects of lasting beauty.

About the Author

Miren Arzalluz is curator and head of collections at Fundacion Cristobal Balenciaga. Olivier Saillard is a fashion historian and director of the Alaia Foundation.