Whoever left on November 18, 2017 leaves behind a world of fashion bruised by the loss of immense talent. From his beginnings in the 80s, this Tunisian landed in Paris has conquered the hearts of women. Like a sculptor, he fashioned second-skin dresses, magnifying each of their curves with scissors. Back to the muses with whom Azzedine Alaïa who remained faithful to him during all his life.
Grace Jones
Azzedine Alaïa before everyone, and while fashion is far from highlighting the mix on the catwalks , was the first creator to scroll through models of color. In the 80s, the androgynous and sculptural Grace Jones becomes the muse of the designer and his mannequin-cab appointed. From the height of one meter seventy-nine, the Jamaican fascinates Azzedine Alaïa.
She is remembered in 1985 as a villain in the film "Dangerously Yours" in the James Bond series wearing a suit signed Alaïa during the cult scene of the jump from the Eiffel Tower.
Grace Jones in the role of May Day in the movie "Dangerously yours" in 1984.
Photo Credit: Keith Hamshere - Getty Images
Naomi Campbell
When he accidentally meets sixteen-year-old Naomi Campbell , he immediately falls in love with the one who will become the famous model of the 90s. Naomi arrives from London and knows nothing of the world of fashion but the fashion designer sees in her the soul of a future great.
Naomi Campbell parades for Azzedine Alaïa during Paris Fashion Week in 1992.
Photo credit: Victor Virgile - Getty Images
Azzedine Alaïa telephones Naomi's mother herself and asks her to let her daughter go by. She will then live for three years with the fashion designer with whom she will live a fusional relationship. The fashion designer, whom she has always nicknamed "dad", quickly replaces the father she has never known. The rest, we know it: the parades follow one another, the covers of magazines, the shootings with the biggest photographers of Lindbergh in Testino.
Naomi Campbell during the Azzedine Alaïa show autumn-winter 1991-1992.
Photo credit: Guy Marineau - Getty Images
Shortly after the funeral of her protector in Sidi Bou Saïd in Tunisia, Naomi dedicated to the designer these words : "You have accomplished all the parental tasks that my unknown father should have fulfilled.You have given happiness to all those who were around you, from your dances in the kitchen to your jokes, you have protected me and loved me unconditionally. "
Farida Khelfa
Farida Khelfa, daughter of Algerian immigrants, is still a teenager when she decides to leave Lyon and her family home to try her luck in Paris. In 1982, then a physiognomist at Bains Douches, the twenty-year-old woman meets the elite of Parisian nights including fashion photographer Jean-Paul Goude with whom she will live a love affair until 1990.
Azzedine Alaïa and her muse Farida Khelfa in 1985.
Photo credit: Suzanne Rault Balet - Getty Images
Under the charm, the photographer brings her into her world and quickly Farida becomes the first Arab model to be paraded for big names in fashion such as Jean-Paul Gaultier and Azzedine Alaïa. " In Alaïa's cabin, there are all the most expensive models in the world. I wonder what I'm doing here, "she confided . Hands-on, she will take turns for the Franco-Tunisian creator, roles of model, muse and, between 1996 and 2003, studio director. His companion of the time Jean-Paul Goude immortalizes the couturier and his muse in a still famous cliche.
Stephanie Seymour
Stephanie Seymour, along with Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer, is one of those models of the 80s and 90s who have revolutionized fashion . Although she is much more discreet than her companions, the American has managed to join the legend alongside other supermodels of reputation. And it is largely to Azzedine Alaia that she owes her career. In 1985, he is the first creator to book the young woman for her fashion shows. He takes her under his wing, keeps talking about her to friends in the high sphere of fashion and soon, his career takes off.
His meeting with the couturier marks a decisive moment in his life and is translated over the years into a fusional relationship . And when she married in 1995 with businessman Peter Brant, it's in a sumptuous dress signed ... Azzedine Alaïa.
Stephanie Seymour in a little black dress signed Alaïa in 1987 for Vogue.
Photo credit: Arthur Elgort - Getty Images
