31 posts tagged "Azzedine Alaia"
Hannelore Knuts Pals Around With Pallas
Tucked away in the ninth arrondissement, the family-run Pallas atelier, which is known for its hand-finished Petite Couture tailoring, has been a secret weapon for major fashion houses, from Balenciaga to Céline to Thierry Mugler, since it was founded in 1961. Fifty-two years later, Pallas is emerging from behind the scenes with a new capsule collection of seven made-to-order tuxedos done in collaboration with Hannelore Knuts. An iconic Belgian model, Knuts is best known for her androgynous appeal (she recently played David Bowie in the indie film DAVE), as well as setting a record for covering—count ’em—three consecutive issues of Vogue Italia, back in 2001. “As someone who’s always been typecast as a tomboy, I felt somehow related to the aesthetic of the Le Smoking,” Knuts told Style.com.
Despite never having designed a suit before (she has, however, done a handbag with Delvaux and a bike for Marniek Kint), Knuts had plenty of ideas for modernizing the classic tuxedo based on her years on the job. “I was really close with Haider Ackermann and got to work closely with Azzedine Alaïa, who regularly did fittings on me and always welcomed me in his studio,” she said. “I’ve seen the process. I’ve witnessed and experienced it. And now I’m actually doing it for the first time, but it didn’t feel unnatural. I appreciate that details, like adjusting the hemline a few centimeters or changing the button finishing, can make or break the entire look.” Knuts herself wasn’t hunched over a table with a measuring tape around her neck and pins in her mouth, but she did suggest several updated silhouettes, such as a hoodie jacket and a seventies-inspired jumpsuit. She also styled and photographed herself for the lookbook. The images, which Knuts shot in Paris’ Le Petit Trianon Theatre, debut above. “I appreciate Pallas’ old-school approach to craft and am excited to help them creatively,” offered Knuts. “Experiences like this make modeling richer and more fulfilling.”
Alaïa’s Aria
In May of 2012, the L.A. Philharmonic launched its Mozart/Da Ponte project—a three-year-long commitment to staging the pair’s trio of eighteenth-century operatic masterpieces: Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, and Cosi Fan Tutte. Last year, the institution partnered with California natives Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte and architect Frank Gehry to create the Don Giovanni costumes and set, respectively. This year, for its The Marriage of Figaro production, the L.A. Phil sourced talents from across the pond, tapping Azzedine Alaïa for costumes and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel for the set. Under the helm of conductor Gustavo Dudamel and director Christopher Alden, Alaïa (who’s also preparing for a solo exhibition of his work at Paris’ Musée Galliera this fall) has created rich wares for the opera’s female and male cast, marking the first time in our memory that he’s tried his hand at menswear. The designer stuck to his signature knit silhouettes for the onstage looks, infusing them with a hint of metallic and bead detailing to catch the spotlight. Alaïa’s original sketches for the leads—Count and Countess Almaviva, played by Christopher Maltman and Dorothea Röschmann—debut exclusively above.
The Marriage of Figaro: May 17, 19, 23, 25, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012. For tickets, visit www.laphil.com.
Hellessy Knows What Women Want
A woman can’t live on cocktails alone. So why do designers churn out so many cocktail dresses? That’s a question that nagged Sylvie Millstein, the designer behind the newly launched label Hellessy. Millstein, who was born in Paris to a French father and a Japanese mother, was the head merchant for Chanel in Japan before relocating to New York in 2007, where she’s been raising a family and acting as a personal shopper and stylist to private clients. “I don’t have a background in design,” she said at a preview of her Fall collection yesterday morning, “but I do have a background in merchandising, so I know how clothes work on the customer and what they want: beautiful finishings, price points.” Her new label isn’t completely devoid of cocktail numbers, but seeing a void in the market for elevated daywear, that’s where Millstein put her focus. In the mix are pieces like a luxed-up parka with a fur collar, long-sleeve sheaths, flaw-concealing peplum tops, a trompe l’oeil jacket that’s actually a shirt you zip into in back, and leather jeans—”secret weapons,” Millstein calls them, “that come out every week, or every other week.” Fans of Victoria Beckham’s simple, body-enhancing dresses will want to take a closer look at Hellessy. Azzedine Alaïa, Rick Owens, and Stella McCartney are among Millstein’s favorites; their sensibilities inform her work, as well. The collection, which was picked up by Kirna Zabete in New York for Spring, retails for less than $2,000.
Seeing a Pattern
On February 15, Phaidon Press will release Pattern, a book that highlights one hundred compelling fashion designers on the rise. Phaidon handed over the book’s curatorial duties to a group of ten designers and industry insiders (including stylist Keegan Singh, Preen’s Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi, the SHOWstudio team, and Business of Fashion‘s founder Imran Amed, just to name a few), each of whom chose ten talents to fill Pattern‘s pages.
The book (which is a follow-up to the 2005 fashion tome SAMPLE) features established designers (Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang, Christopher Kane, Sarah Burton), well-known emerging labels (Eddie Borgo, Thomas Tait, Creatures of the Wind, Mary Katrantzou, whose work is pictured above), and proper newbies (Simone Rocha, Marques’ Almeida, Phoebe English, Maarten van der Horst). The designers’ diverse aesthetics, techniques and outlooks are presented via detailed introductions, backstage, campaign and editorial photographs, and never-before-seen sketches, all of which serve to give readers an in-depth understanding of their work. “For me, seeing that the designers had a consistent point of view that’s true to their style was important,” said Singh, whose picks include Cushnie et Ochs (left), Olivier Rousteing of Balmain, Tabitha Simmons, Dominic Jones, and Gianvito Rossi, among others. “You know, it’s like Azzedine Alaïa. He has his thing, and he always sticks to it,” he added. So does Singh think the next Alaïa is somewhere between Pattern‘s covers? “It’s a possibility!” he laughed. At the very least, he notes, “the book gives the young designers a chance to reach broader audiences; it exposes them to a whole new group of people.”
Pattern: 100 Fashion Designers, 10 Curators will be available on February 15, on phaidon.com.
Before The Closing Ceremony, Hit Opening Ceremony On Greene Street
For Opening Ceremony, the focus has been all on London lately, with its pop-up space (which debuted just in time for the Games) and then its upcoming permanent location, but the brand’s been bringing some of the fun to NYC, too. The label opened a space on Greene Street last month, which exclusively houses the Brian Procell for Opening Ceremony collection of rare and vintage sportswear. Procell, a longtime professional collector of old-school duds from Gianni Versace, Alaïa, etc., gave the backstory on some of the best offerings in the shop right now. And if the Olympics have given you that itch for Americana sportswear, as they have to us, you will want to swing by ASAP for some vintage Ralph Lauren and Polo Sport gear. Click here to read all about his patriotic picks.