On Beauty: Rihanna Covers Vogue Paris

Source:  Vogue Paris

Remembering Azzedine Alaïa

Azzedine Alaïa

I woke up to the news on Saturday, November 18, 2017 that the iconic couturier Azzedine Alaïa  and one of my all time favorite designers had passed away.

Alaïa and a gown worn by Grace Jones in the 80s. 

 If you wanted the world to stop when you entered a room, you wore Alaïa.  His clothes just exuded sex appeal, power, and strength.  He loved the female form and celebrated women's curves in his form-fitting, sculptured styles.

Models in form fitting Alaïa styles.

On women he said the folowing:

"It's important to make women feel confident, because I think they are more important than men."

"My obsession is to make women beautiful. When you create with that in mind, things can't go out of fashion."

"I work for women. I only think for them. If I didn't like women, I wouldn't do this job."

"I think women should be seductive, not triste. There's enough sadness in life now without making women look sad, too."

"I never followed fashion. It's women who have dictated my conduct."

"I make clothes; women make fashion."

So yes, he was a fan of women and women loved him.  He dressed the likes of Madonna, Tina Turner, Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Grace Jones, to name a few.

Madonna and the designer

Tina Turner

Michelle Obama

Beyonce

Lady Gaga

Rihanna

Grace Jones and the designer

Naomi Campbell and Stephanie Seymour served as muses to the master, with Campbell affectionately refering to him as "papa."

Stephanie Seymour and Alaïa

Naomi Campbell and Alaïa

Tunisian-French Alaïa founded his house in the late 70s, with his first ready-to-wear collection being shown in 1980.  He had worked for such designers as Guy Laroche, Thierry Mugler, and Christian Dior.

The designer at work

He has become one of the most influential couturiers in modern history.  His bandage dress, which he debuted in the 80s emphasized the waist, accentuated the hips and made the breasts sit gloriously.  His corsets were a work of art, and his knit dresses clung to the curves in a truly alluring way.  His clothes were provacative without being tawdry; on trend but timeless.  They were defiant and dangerous, definitely not for the meek.

 

I first fell in love with his work in the early 90s.  His Leopard and Tati collections in those days were some of the best of 90s fashion.  

Naomi Cambell in the Leopard Collection

Models in his iconic Leopard Collection

From the Tati Collection

What I love most about Alaïa is how he set his own pace in fashion, often showing his collections off-schedule, after Paris fashion week was over, in his intimate headquarters.  he did it his way and on his own time, and for that, he was one of my favorites.

Robin Givhan excellently tributed the late legend in this Washington Post story.

Alaïa left a permanent void in fashion and he will be forever missed.

Fashion Nostalgia: Gianni Versace

Gianni Versace was adored by the models he helped make famous

Twenty years ago, the fashion world lost a larger than life industry icon when Gianni Versace was gunned down by Andrew Cunanan on the steps of his luxurious Miami mansion.

From the time I opened my first Vogue magazine in the early 1980s until that devastating day, there were only a few designers I was truly inspired by - Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, and Gianni Versace.  I remember being devastated by his lost and thinking that fashion would never be the same.

Left to Right:  Raquel Welch, Gianni Versace, Madonna, Tupac Shakur

From 1978 until his sudden death in 1997, Gianni Versace created his own brand of opulence and glamour at his eponymous label, Versace.  At the height of his career he commanded a large following of celebrities, musicians, socialites and even royalty, including Madonna, Elton John, Princess Diana, Sting, and Tupac Shakur.

He is also credited with creating the supermodel in the nineties, when he agreed to pay high sums to Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington to walk in his shows and pose for his ads.

His bold, ultra-sexy, grandiose style set the fashion industry on fire and made him one of the most important Italian designers of the 1980’s and 90’s.  He dealt in strong colors and patterns, fluid materials that caressed the body and clean, bias-cut lines.

   

Vogue magazine once said, Gianni Versace was a fashion rock star, adored by many and lavishly praised by the fashion industry.

He created the “Safety Pin” dress that launched Elizabeth Hurley into the spotlight as more than Hugh Grant’s then girlfriend. 

He outfitted Princess Diana a number of times, including in a 1991 photo shoot by Patrick Demarchalier that was used for a November 1997 Harper's Bazaar tribute cover following her death. That dress went for $200,000 in an auction in 2015.  She also wore a slinky blue silk Versace gown for a benefit. 

The designer dressed Courtney Love in an ethereal, white Versace gown for the 1997 Academy Awards.

The hip-hop industry adored Gianni Versace and his designs went hand-in-hand with the decadent, money driven lifestyle hip-hop presented in the nineties.  The designer and his sister, Donatella, grew close to Tupac Shakur, who enjoyed custom-made clothing from the designer and famously walked in Versace’s Fall/Winter 1996 show in Milan.

In 1997, The Notorious B.I.G and Puffy famously wore Versace’s opulent silk shirts and sunglasses in the “Hypnotize” video, inspiring knock-offs that became wildly popular among urban teens.

Gianni's bright, bold style carried over into his private life.  He was known to throw lavish parties in his palatial, ocean-front Miami mansion, called Casa Casuarina, which features his signature Medusa head motif and strong Italian influenced décor throughout.

He was at the height of his fame when we was tragically murdered.  He will always be remembered for creating one of the most recognizable and lasting fashion labels in modern history and for his sexy, opulent, luxurious creations.