For decades, the legendary couturier Azzedine Ala&iuml;a secretly amassed the largest private fashion collection in the world. Now, it&rsquo;s unveiled to the public in a new book.

Metallic beads shimmer under silver lamps, throwing their light onto sculpted muslin. Bandage dresses are slit open, displaying velvet mannequin napes. A hooded jersey dress, in terracotta acetate, reveals thin, ribbed fabric scars, if you look closely enough. It&rsquo;s September 2013&mdash;the first major museum installation of designer <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/fashion-mourns-azzedine-alaia">Azzedine Ala&iuml;a</a>&rsquo;s work, held at Mus&eacute;e de la Mode de la Ville de Paris&rsquo; Palais Galliera.&nbsp;
&ldquo;A retrospective is always a great honor, especially when it takes place during your lifetime,&rdquo; Ala&iuml;a said at the time. But the past has a way of yoking us to its prow. He begins to talk of his desire to create a foundation&mdash;one to showcase his frequently rumored, never-seen fashion archive, begun in 1968. Dropped names include <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/cristobal-balenciaga-signature-looks-sack-dress-egg-coat">Balenciaga</a>, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/every-look-from-schiaparelli-s-fall-2024-couture-show">Schiaparelli</a>, and Madame Gr&egrave;s, among many others. To an overcrowded room of peers, friends, and fans, Ala&iuml;a states: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s about preserving our heritage.&rdquo;

Comme des Garçons Dress, Spring/Summer 2014

&ldquo;Presenting this collection to the public is a way of paying tribute both to one of the greatest couturiers in history and to fashion itself,&rdquo; says Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. In the book, there are never-before-seen, Ala&iuml;a-owned pieces from <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/poiret-spring-2019">Paul Poiret</a>, Jeanne Lanvin, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/rei-kawakubo-commes-des-garcons-abstract-fashion-design-runway">Rei Kawakubo</a>, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/john-galliano-maison-margiela-contract-career-history-dior-givenchy">John Galliano</a>, and more, alongside exclusive insights into the firebrand designer&rsquo;s mind from Fondation archivists <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/designers-azzedine-alaia-cristobal-balenciaga-museum-exhibition">Olivier Saillard</a>, Ariel Stark-Ferr&eacute;, and Robinson Boursault. Essays include a look into Ala&iuml;a&rsquo;s journey from fledgling designer to respected craftsman, told through his love of conservation; a glimpse into his obsession with American couturiers; and a tribute to his passion for print ephemera, from invoices to show invitations.
To many designers, amassing clothing is a form of intuition, appreciation, or even sensory pleasure. Balenciaga himself collected curios from open-air markets in Paris and secondhand shops in Madrid. While Ala&iuml;a&rsquo;s design ethos was structural, sensual, and slightly punky, his collecting approach lay in quiet, rigorous scholarship. He often outbid museum directors and curators at auction. Even the act of purchasing is obsessively documented, here, with vintage invoices and antique catalogs held in the collection&rsquo;s annals. His private collection serves as an essential fashion syllabus&mdash;from 19th-century couturiers (like Jacques Doucet) to designers he wanted to learn from (like <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/gabrielle-chanel-history">Coco Chanel</a>) to contemporary talent he admired (like <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/alexander-mcqueen-fall-winter-2024">Alexander McQueen</a>), presented chronologically. Fashion, in Ala&iuml;a&rsquo;s view, was a way of telling time.

Elsa Schiaparelli Fall/Winter 1935 haute couture gown

It could also be an aesthetic and anthropological riddle. Niche fin de si&egrave;cle French designers like Madeleine Vionnet feature prominently, and it becomes increasingly clear why Ala&iuml;a was drawn to their work. Here is a cream <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/dresses-to-wear-to-a-wedding-as-a-guest-shopping-guide-summer">silk gown</a>, with glass beads embroidered in the shape of frieze horses and Vitruvian scrolls; a day dress with an impressively appliqu&eacute;d pastoral scene; and an <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/prom-dresses-inspired-from-movies">evening gown</a> spun from bands of anthracite gray silk organza and crepe, the stiff mesh cap sleeves reminiscent of Ala&iuml;a&rsquo;s own recent fishnet slippers. These garments are not just works of supernatural craftsmanship&mdash;they demand decryption. &ldquo;By closely studying the seams and decoding the fastenings and ties, the expert couturier solved the mystery of [Vionnet&rsquo;s work],&rdquo; writes Saillard.&nbsp;
Ala&iuml;a&rsquo;s intellectual curiosity looms large on the page, prompting a fundamental question: what does it mean that the infinite catacombs of this collection&mdash;a monument to the past and &ldquo;symbol of resistance against oblivion&rdquo;&mdash;will finally be made public through this book? &ldquo;From the foundation's point of view, we are entering a constructive phase so that these rare collections will soon receive the Mus&eacute;e de France label,&rdquo; Saillard tells L&rsquo;OFFICIEL. &ldquo;Ala&iuml;a has saved a heritage for the world, for fashion like no other before. It is a duty that we owe him.&rdquo;
The clothes speak for themselves, with a focus on designer biography, rather than criticism. Notes are made on Ala&iuml;a&rsquo;s earnest appreciation of every designer, from the artists he revered (like Christian Dior) to said artists&rsquo; professional nemeses (like Jacques Fath). This diplomatic approach to conservation gives us more than just insight into the late designer&rsquo;s principles&mdash;it is also a lesson in what a Western fashion canon could look like, regardless of influence or reputation. This is seen, most notably, in one of the most sublime pieces of the entire collection: a visite coat from the early 1880s, made from multicolored floral cashmere. Bright strips of yellow and turquoise blend down into silk fringe, covering a lining of plum-colored shot taffeta, tied with a grosgrain ribbon. The designer is simply listed as Anonymous, yet the piece is presented in-book just as thoughtfully as pieces from designers like Chanel and Lanvin. While we can&rsquo;t know exactly what Ala&iuml;a would think of all this, one thing is for certain: our shared design heritage, from the work of anonymous craftspeople to that of renowned designers, has been beautifully preserved.

Charles James 1950s haute couture gown

A model wears an Alaïa dress in L’OFFICIEL No. 752, 1989

A New Book Pays Tribute To Azzedine Alaïa's Impact On The Fashion Landscape

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