Alaïa in the matisse room

In conjunction with the exhibition dedicated to Azzedine Alaïa for the re-opening of the Palais Galliera, the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris displays a selection of exceptional designs by the couturier. The dresses of unique and special evenings, of women and muses, these rare pieces are presented in an emblematic room of the museum, at the heart of the museum’s permanent collections: The Henri Matisse room.

The dresses of Azzedine Alaïa take their places beside two compositions by the painter (La Danse ou Lutte des Nymphes/Dance or Struggle of the Nymphes, 1931 and La Danse inachevée/The Incomplete dance, 1931-33) and the Murs de peintures/Walls of paintings, 1995 by Daniel Buren. The juxtaposition of their artistic practices highlights their creative affinities. The work of shape, volume, and matter repeats the gestures of the painter or the sculptor who modulates, adjusts, searches, in a veritable momentum of creation, thus breaking down the barriers between fashion and art.

The association between the Palais Galliera and the Museum of Modern Art finds herein its greatest manifestation. By creating a dialogue between the plastic arts and the applied arts, it demonstrates the exigency of avant-garde creators and the practices beyond the artistic fields.