Alaïa SPRING/SUMMER 2022
Alaïa has always been a fashion house that has walked to the beat of its own drum, only showing when it’s founder Azzedine Alaïa was ready to show regardless of the hectic fashion week calendar. Perhaps that’s why Pieter Mulier was right to be appointed creative director to the house: the first appointee after the legendary founder’s passing in 2017.
Mulier has no formal training in fashion design, but studied architecture which seems about right when one of his looks from his debut collection was a molded piece of leather with no visible seams that perfectly emphasized the model’s figure. He also has a cool twenty years of experience as working at Raf Simons’ brand and working as the right hand man of Raf Simons himself during the designer’s tenure at Jil Sander and Dior. When Simons was at Calvin Klein, Mulier was appointed creative director of womenswear at Calvin Klein.
It’s a match made in heaven with Mulier and Alaïa. The designer pays homage to the brands iconic laser cut leather belt including it in two looks with bold color. There’s a wonderful ruby red textured leather two piece set with side cutouts on the side of the skirt; cutouts have been trending but this feels more considered than riding the trend. The angle of the waistband sculpts the waist in a way that would be flattering at any size to bare some mid-drift.
The designer explains that to him, “[Alaïa] is the only house in the world which is sexual without being vulgar. It’s actually about pure beauty, and working on the body, which I have never seen anywhere else.” If this is his interpretation of the house’s heritage, he has conveyed his vision with his use of sheerness. There are dresses that resemble catsuits, but are much more opaque: a dress you could wear to brunch and stunt on everyone at the restaurant without causing a true scandal. A black tulle dress creates a similar effect on the model’s body as water refractions with the added volume of the tulle that straddles the balance inherent in the playfulness of huge tulle gowns being knee length just reads as mature. Lapels rise into collars with a tailoring the flows that might save a business woman from light rain as she hails a cab, or more accurately, gets into her uber. It’s more functional, continuing the sophistication of a blazer or black vest instead of sticking a cotton hood and calling it streetwear. Mulier understands that is not what Alaïa is.
Alaïa is the graphic black and white dress that feels like an optical illusion. It reinvents black and white stripes with oblong lines that point down, mirroring the curves of the body to contour.
There’s also a plum color two piece mermaid skirt set that ends in feathers (?) instead of a tail with a long sleeve crop top that is just chef’s kiss. Here’s to hoping Zendaya wears it at an event that does it justice.
With Mulier, Alaïa is in good hands. The appointment was worth waiting for. I look forward to seeing if Pieter Mulier will continue the late Alaïa’s choice of showing when the collection is ready?
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Photos Courtesy of ALAÏA
