Alaïa and Balenciaga: A Match Made in Heaven

On a quaint and narrow street in Le Marais neighborhood of Paris, sits Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, nearly hidden from the outside world. Through a courtyard café garnished with leafy plants you find the entrance of the gallery. The current exhibition, Alaïa and Balenciaga: Sculptors of Shape is only two euros for students. At first, I expected the foundation just to be hosting a celebratory homage to Balenciaga but was rather fascinated by how both brands seamlessly weaved a collaborative story.

Artists at Work: Cristobal Balenciaga, left and Azzedine Alaïa, right. Source: Google Images

In 1968, Cristóbal Balenciaga announced the closing of his house with a simple radio message, shocking the fashion industry. Azzedine Alaïa, only just a young designer at the time was invited to pick and choose from the garments of his likings to do whatever he found suiting to the pieces. Yet, after witnessing the irreplaceable craftsmanship, Alaïa chose to preserve the garments, refusing to manipulate them or change any of Balenciaga’s designs. Thus, began a longtime love and appreciation for the strong shapes and black silhouettes that evidently seeped into his transformative creations.

To start, a film by Joe McKenna is projected which features the likes of Grace Coddington, Naomi Campbell, Nicolas Ghesquière. They speak lovingly and critically of the late designer with their most personal memories. Clips of the small (standing at 5-feet 3-inches) but mighty Alaïa are threaded through, and we are able to witness the couturier at work, in a playful mood as well as having certain, but expected, tantrums.

Wrapped around that same projected screen room is a written timeline of the Tunisian artist’s life, also marking when he met some of his greatest longtime friends, such as famous Parisian novelist Patrick Modiano or Italian editor and gallerist Carla Sozzani.

Then, the exhibition truly begins. It feels as if you are beginning a sort of hall of mirrors or maze. Fluorescent but ghoulish lighting emphasizes the white, translucent dividers of each section. From corner to corner, separated into groups of two or sometimes three pieces, awaits the remarkably related designs of Balenciaga and Alaïa. The silhouettes of blazers and dresses mirror their counterparts while being propped up by clear mannequins, enforcing the ghostly nature of the exhibition. There, lie the blackest blacks, the most elegantly cinched waistlines, pops of Spanish pinks and reds and velour to die for.

All photos above shot by Olivia Garcia

The exhibit is set up so that, by following this translucent labyrinth, you are able to solely focus on the pieces in front of you while the rest sits in a sort of blur. You can see the likeness between the two brands but can admire how they both creatively differ, with Alaïa having, a more tailored and calculated fit and Balenciaga with his radicalized shapes and ingrained Spanish heritage.

Once you make your way around the first floor, you can make your way up a wooden staircase, hovering just above the Alaïa in house boutique. There, on the next floor are sketches and archival footage of runway shows. The exhibition is modest but still boasts immense creativity and remembrance for the creators. I left feeling more inspired than ever.

Photo taken by Olivia Garcia

Seeing dresses across various decades makes you feel like you are time traveling. Fashion in museums always finds a special way to play with the past and present, and hints at what could be in the future. Alaïa and Balenciaga were pioneers in radical shapes and daring silhouettes, they, as the exhibition promptly names, are more so sculptors rather than designers, who continue to craft new possibilities and horizons for young people in fashion.