On 10 May Azzedine Alaïa, who died in November last year, aged 77, will be celebrated with a dedicated retrospective exhibition at the Design Museum in London. The fact is Alaïa – the son of Tunisian wheat-farmers – was a ground-breaking visionary. Here, we pay tribute to a true artist, explaining his extraordinary legacy and pervasive influence.
1. He understood the female body
Alaïa moulded his clothes to the female form, designing around the woman’s body. He sculpted his work to a Rodin level of craftsmanship (Alaïa himself trained as a sculptor), never losing shape of how his work would look on a woman – fit and flare shapes and nipped-in waists are key signatures. Drawing inspiration from the ancient Amazons, his work challenged pre-conceived notions of femininity. Far from the loose-fitting, soft shapes that went before him (think Diane Keaton in Annie Hall), the designer invented the body-con silhouette. His designs make women look and feel the best they can be; they tuck, grip and smooth to impressive effect. “No other dress can make a woman look and feel as good as an Alaïa dress because it cinches a woman’s body perfectly,” says Naomi Campbell, who has known the designer since she was 16.
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