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This new exhibition presents for the first time the exceptional heritage col- lection that Azzedine Alaïa has assembled over time.
From the birth of haute couture at the end of the 19th century to some of his contemporaries, the couturier admired talent. His collection includes more than 20,000 pieces which bear witness to this art of which he was one of the greatest virtuosos.
Passionate about the history of his own discipline, he started his collection by purchasing the wonders of Cristóbal Balenciaga when his house closed in 1968.
He continues his work of solidarity towards all those who before him had “the pleasure and the requirement of the scissor” with clothes by Worth, Jeanne Lan- vin, Jean Patou, Madame Grès, Paul Poiret, Gabrielle Chanel, Madeleine Vionnet, Elsa Schiaparelli, or even Christian Dior... Contemporary creation is represented by pieces by Jean Paul Gaultier, Comme des Garçons, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler and Yohji Yamamoto...
Madeleine Vionnet, evening dress and cape, having belonged to Agnès Ernst Graham, mother of Katharine Graham, editor of the Washington Post, 1937