The collection continued to build on Azzedine Alaïa’s signature knitted dresses while honoring the sculptor-couturier’s legacy for tailoring, including in an unexpected suit with a sharply cut, double-breasted jacket as fitted as a long-sleeve sweater, worn over a signature pristine-white cotton shirt.
Also presented were new spins on the designer’s embroidered hooded sheepskin jackets, which were lovely. Ditto for a capsule based on the butterfly print from the designer’s spring 1991 collection, with its own special label, including a darling knitted jacquard capelet with a zip.
The colors sang in a capsule of jewel-tone sweatshirts in a velvety material based on a wool and viscose mix.
Updates on the fameuse knit dresses, meanwhile, included a hand-beaded pleated black dress that required 500 hours of embroidery. There was also a strong focus on the necklines, including a short knitted dress with a floral and lace motif and portrait collar.
Accessories additions included a rigid, classic handbag dubbed the Cécile, named after Cécile de Rothschild who was a good friend of Alaïa’s, while a lot of the footwear sported a lower heel, including a flat boot in the signature black laser-cut leather inspired by the designer’s belts.
From this fall, clients will be able to place orders on a group of four archival couture lace dresses from 2007, while pieces from the brand’s Editions label edited from the Alaïa archives — made to the exacting specifications always demanded by Alaïa, and in the original fabrics — included a sheer organza trenchcoat with black snakeskin accents at the collar, and a tailored leather jacket with fringe detail.