Azzedine Alaïa exhibition: 'L'Art de la Mode'

For Tunisian-born designer Azzedine Alaïa, fashion was an art form. Trained as a sculptor, he left Tunisia for France in the mid-1950s to pursue his creative calling, becoming heir to the masters of Parisian haute couture. Alaïa was a virtuoso of cut and proportion, and he translated his gift of construction into garments that remain unrivaled in accentuating the female form. Celebrated as the one true couturier of the body, Alaïa set a feminine paragon in which the most glamorous women of his time, from Greta Garbo to Tina Turner to Naomi Campbell, and a coterie of devoted clients around the globe found the ideal image of themselves. Recognized internationally in the 1980s and early ’90s for iconic designs draping the most elite supermodels, Alaïa continued to dominate the world of fashion throughout his life.

With L’Art de la Mode, SCAD FASH Lacoste presents a rigorously curated selection of Alaïa creations from the designer’s archives. Twenty career-defining gowns, sleek suits, and other exquisitely tailored garments evoke Alaïa’s timeless aesthetic and champion his artistic triumphs, tracing the arc of his legendary career.

L’Art de la Mode is organized in collaboration with Olivier Saillard, director of Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, Paris.