Like the previous season, this Pre-Fall offering encompasses three ranges: a collection of new pieces that feel close to Monsieur Alaïa’s vision, the Édition archive capsule, and Éditions Limitées, which is positioned as demi-couture and available only by appointment. In these images, once again lensed by Karim Sadli and styled with utmost precision by Joe McKenna, it’s pretty much impossible to identify the differences, although hard-core Alaïa aficionados might enjoy the challenge. To be sure, this coherence is a good thing; you get the sense the maison is moving on by staying true to what made it so desirable for decades.
And judging solely by the level of activity in the Paris showroom at the end of couture week, interest remains enthusiastic. As buyers were clustered at tables placing their orders, models with dancer-like poise gave form to key looks. These included a jacket with rounded shoulders, a nipped waist, and basque that laced up the front, corset-style (flawlessly constructed, if not the easiest to put on and take off); a black dress with a scalloped teacup skirt; and knit pieces covered in a rhythmic loop of micro studs. There were other signs of knit newness, namely a dimensional origami design that stood out for its elaborate paneling structure, and a high-contrast animal stripe that gave off strong graphic impact.
There were investment pieces aplenty: a leather coat patterned with metal grommets (revived from the Hiver ’87 collection), the grouping of fluid silk looks that gave the impression of leather, and a belted coat dress in ribbed velvet. And the laced stiletto boots—every bit femme fatale—couldn’t have come at a better time, what with sneaker fatigue now kicking in.
It’s worth noting that the selection here represents a rather tight edit of the showroom offering, where the full range of bags and shoes were on view, in addition to three body-skimming Éditions Limitées dresses (here’s hoping one ends up on the red carpet; they were gorgeous). Apparently, their openwork and beading, in the same looping motif as mentioned above, took hundreds of hours of handwork. By comparison, many of the Édition pieces registered as everyday wearable—a blue velvet shirt from ’83 or a top with signature Alaïa contouring from ’85, for example—but no doubt required hours of effort to create anew.
