Azzedine Alaïa, an other way to look at fashion

The 1991 spring-summer collection made fashion history. For the first time a fashion designer associates his name with a major popular brand. When Azzedine Alaïa saw the "Tati Paintings" series by his painter friend Julian Schnabel, painted on Tati canvas, he decided to create a collection using the same pattern. Alaïa remembers the famous bags he used to see on his way to Orly airport to reach his native Tunisia. All these people with their big Tati bags full of stuff, recognisable by their vichy check fabric which was the brand's signature. 

The couturier contacted the French brand with the idea of creating a collection using the same pattern and Tati asks him to create some pieces for his stores. Azzedine Alaïa creates a pair of espadrilles, a t-shirt and a bag, the first collaboration in fashion history is born.

Drawings by the fashion illustrator Thierry Perez complete the visit.