Modern celebrities rarely come from nowhere: models, designers, photographers and musicians have become a kind of a consequence of fashion dynasty. And here at Azzedine Alaia was not similar backgrounds (though, like most fashion designers of the last century). But, if we trace the history of his life, it becomes clear that there were at least a dozen very happy coincidence, and nothing happened for a reason.
Alaia was born in Tunisia and spent most of his childhood in the grandfather, who was a police officer and often took young Azzedine with him to the station. There’s a future designer became friends with a woman who takes photos to documents: Each person brought her three copies of the picture, one she left myself, and two gave Alaia. And in the evening the boy saw footage, lingering long on the beautiful female faces – except more spectacular Italians he liked bright blondes. Probably once at this time the maestro fell in love with a woman’s beauty, he will sing the rest of his life with the most straightforward way.
In the fifties Alaia moved to Paris with the filing of his grandfather – the designer will later call it the main man in his creative development. There Azzedine enrolled in the School of Fine Arts in the course of the sculpture, but, in his own words, was never going to work on a specialty. Just always interested in his French culture, and the history of art could be great to fill the knowledge gaps. But it is unlikely the designer thought then that love for nudity and perfection of form, and impart classical sculpture forever define his creative style. A truly artistic approach to the lines of a business card Azzedine, who will relate to patterns with scrupulous Michelangelo. Then Alaia was lucky to get an apprentice in the studio of Christian Dior, but after five days of this breakthrough he was fired – over the Algerian war, and North Africans in Paris began to be treated with caution. The irony is that after many years of leadership of LVMH offer alli lead the French house, but he refused out of respect for trouble scandalously fired John Galliano.
After that, everything is developing rapidly: after a few years of life in a permanent client and patroness Simone Zehrfuss, Alaia two years worked in Guy Laroche, helped his friend Thierry Mugler, and in 1960 became a personal tailor countess Nicole de Blezhe (as well as her friends). And in a year when his idol Cristobal Balenciaga closed his fashion house (1968), Azzedine debuted the first collection name. The success caught him almost instantly: Azzedine Alaia dress brand go out of fashion, and perfectly emphasized the natural beauty of the most beautiful sculptures, according to the maestro – a female figure. In the eighties Alaia has become almost an idol – this era of sports bodies with steep lush hips and busts was as though created for him. Supermodel and star level Madonna wore his clothes, magazines and television stations filmed the story of its brand, and the richest women in the world to spend huge sums on the creations of the master.
Paradoxically, the clothes that makes Azzedine, so beautiful in the absolute sense of the word, that the designer can still afford to ignore the demands of the modern fashion industry: while the rest of the brand released on 8 collections a year, Alaya operates in a convenient it mode and arranges daily dinners at the warehouse building of the XIX century, where the designer and the house, and his workshop and studio, and the room, which hosts occasional screenings Azzedine Alaia (since 1992 the brand is not involved in the Fashion Weeks). Although the court in 2015, Azzedine still lives in the unhurried pace of high society of bygone centuries: he is friends with scientists, writers, actors and musicians, he became a mentor to many supermodels like Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell (the latter even calls him “Dad” ) – while studiously avoiding high-profile events and flashes of cameras. And even now, in the era of sneakers and sweat pants, Alaia continues to create emphasized the sexual stuff for women who are free enough not to be ashamed of their bodies.
