The Strength of Beauty: Alaïa’s Living Sculptures

After a stint in New York at the Guggenheim Museum last September, Alaïa is back in its hometown, staging a summer-autumn 2025 show at its new Parisian ateliers on Rue Servan in the 11th arondissement. An ode to the beauty of form, the show featured several silhouettes best described as living sculptures  - a notion very close to the heart of the house’s founder, Azzedine Alaïa. Here is everything you need to know about the show.

Fashion Sculptures

Azzedine Alaïa was often referred to as a couturier-sculptor because of his beautiful forms and exquisite couture shapes. It’s no surprise, then, that Pieter Mulier turned to one of his favourite sculptures to sublimate the show space: a series of monolithic bronze heads by contemporary Dutch artist Mark Manders, strategically placed throughout the atelier. “Manders’ work fascinates me — each of his sculptures appears either as a work in progress or as marked by the passage of an imaginary time, evoking many different cultures,” the designer explained in the show notes. “That idea of non-linearity — of space and time — was inspiring. Codes of beauty that transcend any era or geography, free of boundaries, lie at the very core of Alaïa’s philosophy and identity.”

On the catwalk, this concept was transformed into an array of living sculptures — think pleated skirts with rolled waists, backless draped cut-out gowns, and cocoon-like, face-framing hooded silhouettes that moved like kinetic sculptures. Other highlights included gowns with eye-catching padded shoulders that, according to Mulier, “act like armor to shield,” woven leather tops, and show-stopping skirt ensembles adorned with fringes that floated with every step.

Embodying the spirit of the Alaïa woman

On the day of the show, Pieter Mulier shared an image of a curved bronze sculpture on Instagram with a short yet powerful caption: “Modern Venus.” The idea of strong, gorgeous Alaïa women was central to his collection. “The message is about singularity, individuality, the eternal strength and resilience of women, and empowering them through their clothes. That always inspired Azzedine, and it continues to inspire me — the strength of beauty,” Mulier remarked in the show notes. Each look in the collection told a story of empowerment, refinement, and artistry, inviting women to embrace strength through beauty.

Homecoming

Last September, Alaïa presented its collection in New York at the Guggenheim Museum. This time, returning to Paris felt like a homecoming. The occasion was especially significant, as the show was held at the brand’s newly opened ateliers, marking a new chapter for the team. And we just can’t wait to see what’s next for the brand.

Courtesy: Alaïa

Text: Lidia Ageeva