Fashion, Couture, Craftmanship and Conservation - The legacy of Azzedine Alaïa

The talk will give an overview of the life and career of couturier Azzedine Alaïa and share personal insights into the experience of working with the last great couturier of the 20th century. His background and approach to design have shaped a timeless aesthetic of his clothes, allowing the Alaïa brand to build and maintain a faithful and diverse clientele. 

Alaïa was, first and foremost, a couturier grounded in high craftsmanship. Eager to study in detail the work of those he admired, he built an extensive collection of other designers' pieces to understand materials, construction, volumes, silhouettes, and haute couture techniques.

He also hoped to preserve these beautiful examples of art and couture, skill, talent and vision, to educate and inspire not only future generations of designers, fashion professionals and creatives, but people of all ages from all walks of life. This desire to preserve and share his work and the work of others is now the mission of the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa. This talk will also briefly discuss how this mission is carried out through exhibitions and collection preservation.

Biography

Sarah Perks was born in the United Kingdom. She completed studies in Paris in art, literature and sociopolitical history, couture and pattern drafting. For over a decade she worked closely with the designer Azzedine Alaïa assisting him in the studio, before taking on her current role of collections manager and co-curator of exhibitions at the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation.