Exhibition 12.01.2025 - 05.24.2026

Azzedine Alaïa and Christian Dior, two masters of couture

curated by Olivier Saillard, assisted by Gael Mamine and Sarah Perks
  • "Porto Rico" Haute couture, fall/winter 1954 ©Christian Dior couture

  • Azzedine Alaïa, Haute couture, fall/winter1997 PH. Andrea & Valentina

It was in Tunisia, when he was still a teenager, that the young Alaïa first discovered the creations of Christian Dior  through fashion magazines made available to him by Madame Pinault. In 1956, on his arrival in Paris, he undertook a brief four-day internship with the great couturier, whom he had always admired. During this time, he immersed himself in the unique atmosphere of a fashion house, observed the work of the head of the atelier, and witnessed the creation of a collection... This seminal experience would  be spoken of with emotion for many years to come.

The exhibition offers a dialogue between Azzedine Alaïa's models and those that the couturier patiently collected from Christian Dior. It highlights concepts of style and creation that, despite being separated by several decades, respond to, unite or confront each other, bearing witness to a shared sensibility over time.

Azzedine Alaïa's personnel control sheet at dior, june 26, 1956