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King of the curve: To Russia with love
By Suzy Menkes International Herald Tribune
WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2006
PARIS No sooner had Azzedine Alaïa fitted last week the final seam of Sofia Coppola's short, sculpted little black dress for Cannes, then the designer was off to Moscow. The king of the curve has been invited to take his couture creations to Russia and is now finalizing the venue for an exhibition that will open in 2007.
How appropriate then that Alaïa's new collection has the look of Russian dolls, twirling in dresses with fluffy furry skirts or in shearling coats, laminated like the surface of a frozen lake.
Since he is a couturier to his fingertips, the iconic designer, whose collections hatch when they are ready, is presenting now for the autumn/winter season. But he is totally in tune with current style.
The plays on volume, that brings clothes cut to shadow the body, rather than cinching it, were expertly done, with double-breasted coats fitted at the torso, swelling below a dropped waist. Bell-shaped skirts rose high up the midriff while drapes were worked in jersey to go with the body flow.
With a 1980s revival in full flood, other designers have reworked signature Alaïa pieces such as the tight-bodice tutu mini-dresses. Yet the designer himself has moved ahead, by moving away from the body. And no one can match the master's couture skills. They include treating leather, pierced with "ajouré" seaming and holding a shape like whipped cream; or using lace with the sophisticated lightness you find in Parisian macaroons.
Fitting and sewing every piece himself, Alaïa has a loyal and enduring following that is based on far more than nostalgia for the sexy power woman.
Coppola, who had Alaïa on hand to make tiny adjustments to her changing shape, now that she is expecting her first baby, is only one of the designer's A- list clients. Victoria Beckham has also discovered the designer and brought her soccer-playing husband David along last month to watch the fitting.
And little by little, Alaïa is expanding his empire under the guidance of Prada, with which it has a partnership since 2000. Its shoe range has been extended and includes anything from lacy platform shoes to hairy goat boots looking furry enough for a Russian winter.
Breaking with tradition that has made the hidden store at 7 Rue de Massy a destination only for shoppers in the know, a window is about to open on the blank facade. The Australian designer Marc Newson is transforming the space into a shoe store that will be on show in July - appropriately during the haute couture season.
(source: iht.com)
By Suzy Menkes International Herald Tribune
WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2006
PARIS No sooner had Azzedine Alaïa fitted last week the final seam of Sofia Coppola's short, sculpted little black dress for Cannes, then the designer was off to Moscow. The king of the curve has been invited to take his couture creations to Russia and is now finalizing the venue for an exhibition that will open in 2007.
How appropriate then that Alaïa's new collection has the look of Russian dolls, twirling in dresses with fluffy furry skirts or in shearling coats, laminated like the surface of a frozen lake.
Since he is a couturier to his fingertips, the iconic designer, whose collections hatch when they are ready, is presenting now for the autumn/winter season. But he is totally in tune with current style.
The plays on volume, that brings clothes cut to shadow the body, rather than cinching it, were expertly done, with double-breasted coats fitted at the torso, swelling below a dropped waist. Bell-shaped skirts rose high up the midriff while drapes were worked in jersey to go with the body flow.
With a 1980s revival in full flood, other designers have reworked signature Alaïa pieces such as the tight-bodice tutu mini-dresses. Yet the designer himself has moved ahead, by moving away from the body. And no one can match the master's couture skills. They include treating leather, pierced with "ajouré" seaming and holding a shape like whipped cream; or using lace with the sophisticated lightness you find in Parisian macaroons.
Fitting and sewing every piece himself, Alaïa has a loyal and enduring following that is based on far more than nostalgia for the sexy power woman.
Coppola, who had Alaïa on hand to make tiny adjustments to her changing shape, now that she is expecting her first baby, is only one of the designer's A- list clients. Victoria Beckham has also discovered the designer and brought her soccer-playing husband David along last month to watch the fitting.
And little by little, Alaïa is expanding his empire under the guidance of Prada, with which it has a partnership since 2000. Its shoe range has been extended and includes anything from lacy platform shoes to hairy goat boots looking furry enough for a Russian winter.
Breaking with tradition that has made the hidden store at 7 Rue de Massy a destination only for shoppers in the know, a window is about to open on the blank facade. The Australian designer Marc Newson is transforming the space into a shoe store that will be on show in July - appropriately during the haute couture season.
(source: iht.com)
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