31 posts tagged "Azzedine Alaia"
Pretty in Prints
Anya Ziourova has a killer sense of style. Case in point? The print-on-print outfit that Tommy Ton caught her sporting during Paris Couture week. Everything about this outfit, from the Russian editor’s embellished Emilio Pucci jacket to her crystal-encrusted Azzedine Alaïa heels, further proves that she knows the ins and outs of fashion-forward dressing. It’s hard to resist the desire to copy Ziourova’s look, so we’ve rounded up the essentials and now it’s up to you to take the reins.
From top left to right: Theyskens’ Theory tee, $100, available at www.shopbop.com; Gryphon Elle jacket, $595, available at www.bergdorfgoodman.com; Current/Elliott jeans, $188, available at www.revolveclothing.com; Giuseppe Zanotti sandals, $1,495, available at www.net-a-porter.com; Kotur clutch, $650, available at www.neimanmarcus.com.
Schiaparelli Reborn
Farida Khelfa, the newly installed ambassador at the house of Schiaparelli, held 58 appointments at the company’s freshly renovated Place Vendôme atelier yesterday. There’s no new designer at the brand that Schiap built—Diego Della Valle of Tod’s is reportedly taking meetings with candidates and an announcement is expected to be made in September—but there’s plenty of curiosity around the label’s rebirth. “All the great couturiers know about Schiap,” Khelfa said. “Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Azzedine Alaïa, they’ve all come to see the place.”
In fact, Alaïa was still lounging in the atelier’s white salon (pictured) when this reporter arrived, sharing a story about a letter given to him by one of Schiap’s former lovers. Alaïa, who was friends with Schiaparelli, was supposed to deliver it to her, but he never did out of shyness and fear. Asked if he still has the letter, nearly 40 years after her death, he nodded yes. It would make a smart addition to the refurbished space, which already includes Giacometti pieces found in the Schiaparelli archives, eyeglasses by Man Ray, and a Dalí sculpture, as well as furniture designed by Vincent Darré.
Come the Couture shows next January, the brand will show its first new collection here. For now, though, the hunt is still on for a designer. “Schiaparelli was not about good taste, she was about having an opinion,” Khelfa said. “It doesn’t have to be jolie, it has be strong. It has to be forte.”
White Out
Memorial Day weekend is finally a few days away, and although I wear white year-round, including during the winter, I especially can’t resist buying new white pieces for summer. It’s my go-to color for warm weather. One of my favorites in my wardrobe is a cotton dress from Jenni Kayne Spring ’11—I’ve worn it over and over again. But every year I add a couple of new summer white pieces to my collection. Earlier this year, during Milan fashion week, I was lucky enough to find a great full-skirted Alaïa number at the Corso Como outlet for a bargain, but besides that, I have yet to find the perfect new additions for this summer—until now. Here are a few items I have my eyes on.
From the top left: Acne Lucille denim dress, $353, available at www.mytheresa.com; Proenza Schouler sleeveless belted shirtdress, $850, available at www.kirnazabete.com; Diego Dolcini flat sandals, price on request, available at www.diegodolcini.it; Mother Runaway skinny flare jeans, $196, available at www.shopbop.com; Lanvin two-tone minaudière, $2,390, available at www.barneys.com.
Designer’s Best Friend
If man’s (and woman’s) most loyal companion is the dog, designers are no exception. The latest issue of the menswear biannual Man About Town pays homage to a few that know more than most about the inner workings of fashion. For the canine-themed 10th issue—featuring shoots not only by the usual fashion suspects like Paolo Roversi and Willy Vanderperre, but this time, by famed Weimaraner enthusiast William Wegman, too—the magazine sought out the pups of the fashion elite, who are photographed by Erwan Frotin.
The dog’s life: Not bad, if you’re a designer’s pet. Azzedine Alaïa has eleven animals (including one owl), but it’s his St. Bernard, Didine, who gets the close-up. “Animals make people better,” the designer says. That may explain the care Alaïa lavishes on his creatures, like the mastiff, Shamsi, he used to carry in a baby’s sling. “I took him on the Concorde,” Alaïa remembers, “where I said to the stewardess, ‘this is my son, he’s traveling with me.’ She didn’t spot him so she just said, ‘Oh, of course, sir.’” Dries Van Noten’s Airedale, Harry, is treated to fashion heirlooms: Van Noten and his partner, Patrick Vangheluwe, bought him a cushion that originally belonged to Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s French bulldog, Moujik, at the Christie’s auction of items from the couple’s country estate. (The original Moujik has long since passed away, but his successor, also called Moujik, appears in the issue alongside an interview with Bergé.) And in her interview with Jo-Ann Furniss, Donatella Versace reveals that her Jack Russell, Audrey, is a full-on diva. “She is the top, the toppest model of all,” Versace says. Has she as big an ego as Kristen McMenamy? Furniss asks. “Bigger.” What about Linda Evangelista? “Hmmm. Well, not on that level, no.”
Man About Town 10 launches next week at Colette.
Deer In The Spotlights
Long regarded as the go-to shopping destination for a certain discerning set of Angelenos, Des Kohan ‘s namesake store holds a reliable, oft exclusive stock of merchandise from designers local (Juan Carlos Obando) and abroad (Alaïa). But it’s that energy of exclusives that has kept Kohan’s shop on the map despite its off-the-beaten-path location on South Cloverdale Avenue. The shop owner’s latest endeavor, debuting today, is DEER, a 20-piece accessory collection conceived alongside L.A.-based jewelry designer Annie Costello Brown. “We couldn’t find pieces that we wanted in our wardrobe, so we wanted to create something that wasn’t about following trends but about setting standards for style,” Kohan tells Style.com of the collection ($125 to $798). Composed of uniquely paired mixed metals and media to convey a “raw, earthy look,” DEER relies on a multitude of styling options that have, in turn, elevated each piece’s functionality. “We used the materials in a new way and brought the multifaceted styling element to it,” Costello explained of the colored leather, shells, vintage brass beads, and chains she sources from around the world, then designs and assembles in Los Angeles.
In a true partnership, Kohan offers personal styling to complete the looks that Costello Brown accessorizes. “Because we’re just one store, we’re able to create editorial pieces (ranging from a mixed-metal draped trio necklace to a snake belt) instead of trying to please the masses.” It’s an ongoing—and unbridled—partnership that is set to produce new designs on a monthly basis.
DEER is now available at Des Kohan, 671 South Cloverdale Ave., L.A., (323) 857-0200.