The attention to decorative details that distinguish this collection can be traced to Azzedine Alaïa’s personal and meaningful attachment to Africa. From his childhood in Tunisia to the art and costumes he collected fondly over decades, African referencing attested to pride in his heritage and his deep engagement in Africa’s history. The application of ropes, raffias, feathers, shells and leopard printed fabrics that were part of his ongoing, creative universe have reappeared as contemporary and decorative couture work. While silhouettes suggest timeless sensuality, surface treatments speak to a combination of artisanal and innovative techniques.

From Saharan-inspired cuts to fringe woven through knits, the collection shifts between crisp and tactile, each look in dialogue with the body. An earthy palette is punctuated with vivid red, accents of gold, and a deep brown that evokes the hue of African sculpture. An overall sense of freshness wafts through the collection, as the season’s airy volumes conjure the warm breeze of summer with a vision of new horizons, near and far.
Courtesy of Alaia

For fall, the studio picks up on the designer’s fascination with ergonomy, in particular through jersey knit. Starting with archival samples and a lifetime’s worth of research, it delved into origami-inspired pleating and came up with a new, openwork iteration that, while visibly true to house codes also pushed the story forward. For the first time, a cape coat ordinarily cut from cloth resurfaced in a dense knit, textured in ovoid reliefs. Knits also proved a foil for a leather corset belt with fringes that fell to mid-thigh. Impractical though it may be, in a season heavy with fringe, that would-be skirt was one of the most compelling pieces around. In that spirit, there were also a few fringed jackets extrapolated from one Mr. Alaïa had left unfinished on a mannequin in his studio.

With Alaïa’s original, iconic zip dress headed to the upcoming Met exhibition, About Time (which has been indefinitely postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic), the studio offered up a new, simpler take on that idea in a little black dress. His signature leopard print also appeared in various iterations, in a gathered and belted coat or a knit bodice on an evening gown (something Mr. Alaïa rarely did in ready-to-wear). Other highlights included velvet dresses in true black or faux blacks, like deep burgundy or forest green, and an eye-catching jacket and skirt ensemble in laser-cut, embroidered leather that amped up the contrast of matte and shine.

Courtesy of vogue.com

For Alaïa loyalists, this season features exact re-editions of certain favorites, like a polka dot faille trench or a denim peacoat from Summer 1992—a nod to the Tati exhibition currently on show at the Association Azzedine Alaïa, through January 5.

Alaïa also had a personal archive of favorite materials, some of which, like the artisanally made “pois” embroidered poplin, were produced especially for him on 19th-century looms in Switzerland. Today, that motif returns to amazing effect in knits by the supplier with whom Mr. Alaïa worked for more than four decades (and who helped him develop and introduce leggings made with Lycra). Those, as well as a new series of silk knits, not to mention a longer version of the Tina Turner skirt, will certainly appeal to a fan base that loves body-con dressing.

“We try always try to have something that relates to our history, without being dated or nostalgic—Mr. Alaïa was never nostalgic,” said Fabre Bazin. And so it is that a bow theme may nod to a collection from 2010, signature studs may return via 3D printing, a technical silk organza may be embroidered with an archival motif and then used on a different silhouette, or a print from 1991 may find fresh relevance on different materials. Ultimately, “then” fuses with “now” and you begin to sense how the archivists must feel as they tackle the designer’s vast legacy.

Courtesy of vogue.com

 

With the focus being Fall-Winter, coats and jackets unsurprisingly assume a starring role. Whether double-breasted and mannish, in leather with a segmented basque, or the more familiar, A-line forms, each construction was flawless up-close. And these varying silhouettes will speak to all the women who are already accustomed to investing in such understated power dressing.

Colorful butterflies, meanwhile, will make a far more extroverted statement—one that will be recognizable to anyone whose archival memory of past collections stretches back to 1991. A devout animal lover, Monsieur Alaïa apparently had a particular fondness for les papillonsand the freedom they represented. Freshly revived (originals can still be found on 1st dibs and other vintage sites), they are rendered in printed poplin, jacquard knit, and embroidered tulle alike. They give this collection a lovely lightness, balancing out a certain formal respect for house codes that comes across in the designer’s absence.

A few other notable mentions: shearling tamed by a spiraling embroidery; suede punctuated with dimensional tags and knit motifs that conjured alternate animal themes; wavy Op Art–ish graphics; and the demi-couture gown in froths of champagne silk lace, which served to remind of the delicate, time-intensive techniques that the atelier does so well. Courtesy of vogue.com

The past is clear; the future is obscure.

The main ready-to-wear collection, treats familiar volumes and fabrications with restraint and precision but also with freshness. Cotton shirtdresses were covered in laser perforations that have been delicately embroidered, and a white jacket in a looping openwork pattern looked even more handcrafted than lace. The looks encrusted with fringed raffia were made of woven raffia, which gives them a flattering harmony of structure and swish. And anyone who can’t imagine Alaïa without the fine-gauge knit, body-con dresses, and laser-cut leather belts, fear not, there were a few of these, too. A bustier with straps that crisscrossed the torso drew so closely from the DNA that it might as well have been vintage.

These looks and more—cropped python jackets, crisp poplin shirts, a selection of instantly desirable bags, belts, and shoes—were presented from an upstairs suite that serves as a guest apartment for the designer’s innermost circle. That the racks were surrounded by a stunning selection of iconic modern furniture (an industrial table and chairs by Jean Prouvé, the multiarmed wall lamp from Serge Mouille, seating by Pierre Paulin) further reinforced Alaïa’s mastery of a timeless aesthetic and the appeal in reissuing flawless design. For now, this strategy not only seems solid, it once again defines Maison Alaïa against industry/retailer/consumer expectations of newness each season. Courtesy of vogue.com

The whole point of this exercise remained the same: to create garments that make the wearer feel confident/stronger/better/more fully herself. That should not be a trend or response to a cultural moment. It should be a given.