REMEMBERINg AZZEDINE ALAIA
“the king of cling”
Azzedine Alaia, the French-Tunisian designer known for his figure-sculpting fashions, has recently passed away at the age of 77. In his more than four decades in the fashion industry, Alaia gained a reputation for going rogue; he refused to follow the calendar of international fashion weeks and released his collections only when he was ready.
he rose to fame for his body-hugging designs that celebrated the female form and this eventually earned nickname “the king of cling”. These form-fitting dresses were worn by some of the biggest stars of the 1980s and ‘90s, such as Madonna and the model, Naomi Campbell, who was one of his protégées and referred to him as “Papa.”
As he updated those designs, his cohort of celebrity fans grew to include Lady gaga and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Alaia’s clingy fashions have been celebrated in numerous museums including the guggenheim in New york, the Associated Press reports. A 2013 retrospective at Paris’ Palais galliera celebrated his way of “slowing down time.”
Beyond the street and runway, Alaia is forever memorialized in pop culture. In the 1995 comedy Clueless, popular Beverly hills teen, Cher, opposes a robber’s demand to hit the pavement, saying her red dress “It’s an Alaia. It’s like a totally important designer.” And indeed he is, even in death.
‘’Fashion will last forever. It will exist always. It will exist in its own way in each era. I live in the moment. It’s interesting to know the old methods. But you have to live in the present moment.’’ – Azzedine Alaia